While this summer at the cinema may not have lived up to the hype of BarbenHeimer from last year, there were still plenty of hits that made it worth the ten-dollar popcorn. (Spoilers for Longlegs, Twisters, and Deadpool & Wolverine)

Longlegs: Heralded as the next “Silence of the Lambs,” director Oz Perkins tells the story of the satanist serial killer Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) as he continues his killing spree. Hot on his trail is FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe). A quiet investigator with psychic abilities, allowing her to stay close to the investigation. What Harker doesn’t know is that her ties to the killer run much deeper. Well, for those in search of a crime thriller, you may be a bit disappointed. While it was advertised as a sort of psychological thriller, it caters to its supernatural elements. The film’s wheelhouse is the cinematography and acting. Maika Monroe shines as Harker, bringing a subdued performance in a world of screams and jump scares. Director Oz Perkins will get a lot of praise for this film’s cinematography, but that all belongs to the cinematographer Andrés Arochi. The wide shots in this film evoke feelings of dread as you constantly pan the screen for something to jump out at you. With the main strengths outlined, we can now look at the film’s shortcomings, of which there aren’t too many. The main issue being that of the ending. It’s abrupt. With Harker finding out that her mother was a part of Longlegs’ murders, the film begins to wrap things up fast with direct answers rather than giving you clues throughout. Something else that stands out is the pacing. This is a slow burn, and while that isn’t necessarily a flaw, I can see where it turned some people away. But if you stick it out, you’ll get a well-written, well-shot and well-acted horror flick. I’m giving Longlegs a solid 7.5/10.

Twisters: “Twisters” follows Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a former storm chaser, as she is called back home to Oklahoma to help her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) as they face the largest tornado outbreak in years. While trying to collect data, Kate and Javi are cut off by an unorthodox storm-chasing group led by Tyler Owens (Glenn Powell). As tornadoes continue to ravage the state, Kate searches for answers to help her home. This is a summer movie through and through. The performances are good, the camera work is solid, and the score is forgettable. The one thing that I think the film nails is the tornadoes. They truly display them as forces of nature not to be messed with unless you’re a storm chaser. There were two main things that I noticed about the film that negatively stood out to me. The first is that the two rival groups are both operating in the interest of science and the understanding of the weather for the greater good of the people. Why don’t they just work together? The other point is the people of Oklahoma acted as though they didn’t know the tell-tale signs of a tornado. The citizens of “Tornado Alley” didn’t see a large dark cloud and think to go for cover. But again, that’s just me being “nit-picky.” Still a fun watch and met my expectations. I’m giving “Twisters” an 8/10.

Deadpool & Wolverine: In Deadpool’s first film in the MCU, he looks to save his own universe from collapse at the hands of the TVA and to do that, he looks to other universes to find Logan, aka The Wolverine. With the X-Man begrudgingly enlisted, they are both banished to the void and have to fight their way out before Deadpool’s universe is destroyed. With gratuitous cameos, pop music, and sometimes out-of-place humor, this is in fact a Marvel superhero movie and one of the best that we’ve seen since “Avengers: Endgame.” To watch this film, you need to take it as it is: a generic superhero flick. If you’re looking for a strength of this film, it is the acting. Ryan Reynolds is back as the titular character, and he is joined by Hugh Jackman, returning as the Wolverine. Joining them are the film’s antagonists, played by Matthew Macfadyen and Emma Corrin, who have great fun with the roles. Performances aside, the film can be a bit meandering at times.  At certain points, you are begging for the plot to continue, but it must be postponed for another Disney/Fox jab or sex joke. Speaking of the jokes, this might be the worst in the trilogy in terms of comedy. There were tons of grabs at low-hanging fruit as well as jokes directed at the “woke mob,” which, whenever said mob is called out for a joke, it is mostly to serve “boomer humor.” But loving its flaws, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is a fun summer romp and a love letter to the Fox brand that started the superhero craze 24 years ago with the first “X-Men.” I’m giving “Deadpool & Wolverine,” a 7/10.