Inside Out 2, Tuesday, The Boys Season 4 | See It or Skip It

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Will Joy be taking over your mind while watching the new Inside Out film, or will you leave feeling sad? ABC4 film critic Patrick Beatty has his review on it, as well as a new A24 film, and the newest season of Prime Video’s The Boys.

Inside Out 2

Pixar films have had a rough go of it lately. It started back in 2020 when the pandemic hit, leading the studios’ parent company Disney, to release the Oscar-winning Pixar film Soul, then Turning Red, and Luca. Eventually, these did end up making it into theaters, but the lack of that initial theater run did end up hurting the bottom line and potentially putting releasing these titles out in theaters indefinitely.

Luckily with Inside Out 2 that was not the case, and in this sequel to the 2015 film we continue on with Riley’s journey as she deals with turning 13, and all of the emotions that come with that. Joy (played by Amy Poehler) and the rest of Riley’s main emotions Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger, now come face-to-face with new emotions Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy, Embarrassment, and Boredom are taking over and causing mayhem in Riley’s world. It’s up to Joy and the other emotions to stop the new emotions from fully controlling Riley, but will they be able to in time before serious consequences in the Inside Out world become a reality?

This is a perfect family film for audiences to see in a theater. From the gorgeous visuals to the laugh-out-loud moments, Pixar again manages to bring heart and humor in a creative and unique way you don’t see coming. I love the world of Inside Out from the explanations of how the human brain works to the funny inside jokes that come from hitting your teenage years and what that means not just for Riley, but to her parents and friends as well. Riley is having to choose between the old life with her friends who are soon leaving her for another school, and a potential new life with a Hickey club led by one of her idols.

That balance is being played out on the ice rink as well as between the new and old emotions who have conflicting ideas on how to take care of Riley and do “what’s best for her”. Between Joy and Anxiety, their conflicting ways of helping Riley emulate what it’s like to grow up. At one point in the film, a character notes that maybe joy goes away as you get older, and is replaced with anxiety. That type of emotional exploration is what makes Pixar so potent and successful and they do a great job of that here.

Overall, if you have kids, specifically those between the 10-15 age this is a must-see. It’s great for anyone, and while it doesn’t hit quite the emotional heights that the first does, it’s a worthy sequel and a wonderful time in the theaters.

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Tuesday

Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as a mother, Zora, who is forced to confront death in the form of a size-shifting talking bird. The bird is there for her daughter, Tuesday, who is nearing the end of her life from a terminal illness rendering her unable to function unassisted. If that premise sounds strange to you, then you aren’t alone. What is surprising (or not, considering A24 made this) is how heartfelt and beautiful the film’s story is as it tackles grief, love, and accepting things you can’t control.

This may be one of my favorite films of 2024 so far. It begins through the bird’s perspective, who is surrounded by noise and cries of people longing to be free from pain and desire to pass away. He’s compelled to do this until he meets Tuesday, and suddenly the noises in his head go away. He is so relieved and grateful for this that he allows Tuesday the chance to say goodbye to her mother. Zora is far less accepting of the bird’s duty and does everything she possibly can to stop the impending death of Tuesday, even going as far as to embody the bird.

What I love about the premise and how writer/director Daina Oniunas-Pusic directs this film is how much humanity and love there is paired with feelings of fear and loss. It’s an exploration of fried in a way that is strange, but completely approachable for any audience. Julia Louis-Dreyfus delivers perhaps the best performance of her career, and her chemistry with Lola Petticrew is raw and pure. I left the theater feeling full and emotional, with a desire to explore the symbolism and meanings behind the bird and his mission.

Overall, this is a great film. It should be seen in a theater for the communal experience but also because of how they are able to play with the scale and sizes of characters that can appear as small as a thimble, or as big as a mountain. Go in with an open mind and you will be greatly rewarded.

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The Boys Season 4

Season 4 of The Boys is available now on Prime Video, and sees all of our favorite villains and heroes back with the same amount of violence, profanity, and superhero shenanigans we’ve come to love over the three seasons. In this, Homelander is gunning for political power while handling his son for the first time. Butcher is now facing a deadly sickness and no longer leading The Boys, but they all still end up working together throughout the season as Starlight continues her campaign for Superhero restrictions and limiting as much power as she can to stop Homelander.

As the season progresses so does the hate and love humanity has for the superhero, but are they on the right side or will whoever wins the public over wind up destroying them in the process?

I both like and dislike this season for a couple of reasons. First I’m always a fan of The characters and how much fun they are to watch. nobody is phoning in their performances and while I may have an issue with the story, the acting has never let me down. The main issue I have revolves around the seasons’ story arch that does not really lead to anything. The episodes feel almost like filler episodes for the final 5th season, and many characters just feel like their arcs are complete and don’t need to be in the show anymore. There aren’t any stakes and that leads to a frustrating viewing when by the end of the season it all seems to reset itself.

I hope the 5th season gives us the showdown we needed in season 4, still, this was a fairly fun watch and I would say if you are a fan of the series definitely look into this. It just doesn’t hit the mark for me.

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Note: See It or Skip It is proudly owned and produced by Patrick Beatty. ABC4 is a broadcast partner, but the show, its content, and opinions are independently created.

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