Summer 2024 has paled in comparison to 2023’s summer movie lineup, heavily lacking headline-grabbing blockbusters like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Barbenheimer” — a fan-made moniker referring to the double feature of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” 

Whether this lull results from the numerous Hollywood writers’ strikes last year or an industry-wide letup, audiences have to look a little bit harder to figure out what movie they want to spend their money on during their next cinema outing. 

Though Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” lacks the usual fanfare of a June release, it is every bit a diamond in the rough for this year’s prime release season.

“The Bikeriders” is inspired by a photography-collection book of the same name, which was created in the early 1960s by photographer Danny Lyon. Lyon documented the stories and personalities of the original members of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, whose slightly fictionalized selves are referred to as “the Vandals Motorcycle Club” in the movie. 

As such, “The Bikeriders” is a character-driven story, led by a remarkably charismatic cast including Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) as the club’s founder Johnny, Austin Butler (“Elvis”) as young upstart biker Benny and Jodie Comer (“The Last Duel”) as Kathy, Benny’s wife.

Indeed, the star-studded cast fuels the story and keeps it at a thrilling pace. “The Bikeriders” feels like taking a late-night ride on a motorcycle through the Americana melancholy of the Midwest; no one is quite sure where the destination is, but everyone is nevertheless assured that something important lies ahead. 

The reason why audience members grow so invested in such a simple story is because the people represented on screen are undeniably authentic, plucked right out of the scarce roads of rural Ohio. 

While Hardy and Butler deliver their as-to-be-expected stellar performances — and yes, Butler still kind of sounds like Elvis — it’s Comer who takes the film to an entirely different level. Surrounded by hyper-masculine bikers as Benny moves up in the club’s ranks, she continually toes the line as a suburban, sheltered housewife. 

Comer’s character Kathy is undoubtedly intriguing — part of the American in-group but always excluded from crucial decisions due to her status as a ‘60s woman. Comer portrays this dichotomy all while speaking in an overtly Midwesterner accent that brings a unique dimension to her character and places her among early candidates for the next Oscar season.

Apart from the acting, cinematographer Adam Stone drips the images in a faded sepia, reminiscent of days forgotten and nostalgic for a time period that many did not experience firsthand. While at points the story’s speedometer crosses the line into melodrama, for the most part, the story of “The Bikeriders” feels gritty, unreformed and intense — like watching a fistfight in the alley behind a bar. 

The film would certainly pair well with 2023’s late standout “The Iron Claw,” a film that follows a similar story structure and feels as though it’s set in the same aesthetic universe. 

Modern moviegoers often express desire for a film that feels distinctly genuine, and no other 2024 movie lives up to that wish more so than this year’s surprise hit, “The Bikeriders.”

Stay tuned for Kalki 2898 AD review and U.S. premiere report.

Kalki 2898 AD is releasing amid gigantic expectations, and director Nag Ashwin has taken on a huge challenge that could elevate him to the elite league of pan-India directors, if he delivers a film that opens to unanimous blockbuster talk. Stay tuned for the Kalki 2898 AD movie review and the first report from the USA premiere.

Cast: Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Disha Patani and others

STORY – SCREENPLAY – DIALOGUES – DIRECTION: Nag Ashwin

Direction Team: Nayanatara Manchala, Sahen Upadhyay, Akhil Reddy, Srinivas Eetha, Laxman Vihari, YJ Sai Charan, Prakeerthi Uppalapati, Kumar Vamsi

DOP: Djordje Stojiljkovic
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Additional Sound Design: Kingshuk, Anirban
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Production Designer: Nitin Zihani Choudhary
Art Director: Anil Jadhav, Santosh Shetty, Velu, Rembon
Concept Art Team: Immortal Collective
Concept and Storyboard Artist: Venu Gopal
Stunts: King Solomon, Andy Long, Peter Heins, Satish, Anbariv, nick powell
Colorist: Andres Delgado, Prashant Sharma

Producer: C.Aswini Dutt
Co Producers: Swapna Dutt & Priyanka Dutt

U.S. Distributor: Prathyangira Cinemas

Kalki 2898 AD Movie Review by M9

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3/5 stars

The fate of the universe does not always need to hang in the balance to create compelling drama. Sometimes, something as simple as garnering a better understanding of a colleague can prove sufficient, as is the case in Sho Miyake’s new drama.

Adapted from Maiko Seo’s novel of the same name, All the Long Nights follows two young people whose prospects in the adult world have been cut short by disorders that affect their everyday experience.

Misa (Mone Kamishiraishi) suffers from extreme premenstrual syndrome, which triggers mood swings so violent that she was forced to quit her previous office job.

Meanwhile, Takatoshi (Hokuto Matsumura) is hobbled by debilitating panic attacks, which have had a similarly negative impact on his professional aspirations.

These two lonely souls meet when Misa moves back home to be close to her ailing mother (Ryo), and gets an administrative job at a small company that distributes science equipment for children.

Initially, Misa and Takatoshi have little in common, their eccentricities and peccadillos even causing a degree of tension and irritation between them.

But when Misa discovers that Takatoshi takes the same herbal medication as she does, it sparks a growing understanding and empathy between the two of them, which only grows when they team up to collaborate on a planetarium project.

Miyake’s film conjures an affectionate portrayal of sleepy suburbia, exemplified by the low-stakes challenges of small-business office culture that unfolds at a gentle, unhurried pace, as one has come to expect from Japanese dramas of this ilk.

Where this film differs from many of its contemporaries, however, is in the absence of such archetypal clichés as romance or illness. Misa and Takatoshi’s relationship remains defiantly platonic throughout, with neither party ever threatening to overstep their boundaries or behave inappropriately.

Instead of a story about finding a kindred spirit with whom to explore the boundless expanse of the universe, All the Long Nights is a tale of curiosity and understanding.

Both characters strive to learn more about their colleague’s physiological disorder to better inform themselves, but also so that they might become a more valuable and empathetic friend to the other.

The performances are understated but also effective, unburdened by the need to resort to histrionics to advance the narrative.

Undeniably, Misa and Takatoshi come to depend upon one another as a crutch for coming to terms with their own issues, but Miyake’s proposal that this connection need go no further is as honest and refreshing as they come.