Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Direction: Shawn Levy
Country: USA

Deadpool & Wolverine, a Marvel misfire directed by the uninspired Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy (Free Guy, 2021; The Adam Project, 2022), falls flat despite the return of fan-favorite antihero Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, who also co-wrote and co-produced) as Deadpool. This time, he asks for the help of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to save his universe from extinction. These volatile superheroes can go from fighting each other until unconscious to forming a powerful alliance within minutes. 

Everything about the movie is extreme as it takes an ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ approach, attacking from all sides in every department with an ‘I-don’t-give-a-damn’ posture. It even borrows from Mad Max while relying heavily on multiverse chaos and an eclectic array of Marvel characters. The result is an eccentric, flimsy parody with ferocious, often self-referential dialogue that mocks the film industry and other Marvel figures. However, the screenplay quickly gets bogged down in eye-rolling contrivances. 

While the ridiculousness occasionally lands some laughs — thanks largely to Deadpool's irreverent charm — the movie's attempts at subversion can't mask its numerous plot incoherences. The narrative feels half-baked, dragging along in a bloated mess of confused and conflicted scenes. Ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine offers nothing new, with Levy seemingly content to toss these characters together and hope for the best. Unfortunately, the result is a muddled and forgettable entry in the Marvel franchise.

Smoking Causes Coughing (2023)

Direction: Quentin Dupieux
Country: France 

Whether you love or hate his movies, Quentin Dupieux is a singular filmmaker who is not afraid to experiment. His new fantastical and absurdist film, Smoking Causes Coughing, is satirical in a way that is both disarming and perplexing. This gory, outlandish superhero comedy with some big laughs is centered on the Tobacco Force, the coolest Avengers unit comprised of Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Ammonia (Oulaya Amara), and Benzene (Gilles Lellouche). Although saviors of humanity, they struggle with emotional problems themselves and egotistic instincts. But one thing bonds them tightly: the love for grim, scary stories.

The five vigilantes led by Chief Didier (Alain Chabat), literally an old rat with drooling problems, is put to a test when Lizardin (Benoit Poelvoorde), the Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate the Earth.

More of a sketch film willing to entertain adult audiences with the spirit of TV comedies of the ‘70s than anything else, Smoking Causes Coughing bears a horde of pop curiosities and caustic yet valid social commentary about saving our planet and the dangers of compromising technology (the presence of advanced robots - one suicidal and one retarded - is not by chance). To spice things up, he interlaces the droll mockery with disgustingly bloody scenes. Certain jokes have a forced quality, but there's something gleefully self-aware about them. 

Dupieux’s antics are provocative, psychedelic and unapologetic. His film, so well titled, so funny, so pathetic and so bizarre, is also so memorable for all that.