'Materialists' (★★★★✩), 'Dangerous Animals', 'Muértimer' and other releases of the week

These are the new releases hitting the big screen this Thursday, August 14:

Ratings

★★★★★ masterpiece ★★★★ very good ★★★ good ★★ average

Materialists ★★★★✩Directed by Celine SongCast by: Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris EvansProduction: USA, 2025 (109 minutes) Romantic comedy The algorithm is a lonely heart

By Philipp Engel

Right at the start of her second film, Celine Song puts boots on the algorithm and takes it for a walk through a New York once again photographed by Shabier Kirchner, like in Past Lives : Dakota Johnson strides along and, without even stopping, hands her “match-maker” card to a stranger with whom she has established eye contact in the space of a click.

The film is constructed as a "Tinder in 3D," not only because its clients are presented as that list of commodified data we've worked so hard to become, but because, when the algorithm itself reveals itself to be a lonely heart, it oscillates between two archetypes as flat as any social media profile, an impression contributed to, very positively, by the dramatic limitations of the chosen actors, whether Chris Evans or, you'll forgive me, Pedro Pascal, the man of the moment. They are caricatures: the textbook "loser," who sooner or later will end up triumphing, versus the overly self-confident rich guy.

If in Past Lives Song told us how she renounced the purity of her first love, revived by social media despite time and distance, in her second film she wants to distance herself from a system that, in essence, has not changed since the days of Edith Wharton: marriage remains the decisive business in high places.

In both films, apart from returning to her relationship with the (successful) writer and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes, the director reflects on the commitments and renunciations that surround this monogamous union that, through a prehistoric prologue (à la Barbie) , she claims as the quintessence of Humanity, between personalized attraction and the survival of the species, between genuine affection and the exchange of favors.

It's a somewhat conservative perspective in this diverse world, but it's handled with intelligence and originality. The apparent lightness that flirts with screwball and rom-com—a sparkling retort here, a sexy glance there—is appreciated. It would be unfair to dismiss it as less than its predecessor because it doesn't incorporate an exotic in-yeong-like concept or remove melancholy from the equation. They are very complementary films.

Dangerous animals ★★★✩✩Director: Sean ByrneInterpreters: Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh HeustonProduction: Australia-USA-Canada, 2025 (98 minutes) Horror Nightmare on the high seas

By Jordi Batlle Caminal

It's not just the 50th anniversary of Jaws . It's also the 50th anniversary of sharks, of many sharks and other terrifying aquatic beasts. Because the double blow delivered by Spielberg (to the box office and to the audience) in the summer of 1975 immediately gave rise to a "sharkphilia" on the big screen (and a "sharkphobia" in real life) that has continued to trickle down over the next five decades, accumulating everything from infamous, but sometimes very funny, by-products or "exploits" to titles as worthy of vindication as Renny Harlin's Deep Blue Sea , to exquisitely demented "trash" gems (the Sharknado saga being the main one).

Dangerous Animals is also about sharks, but only tangentially. Because here the terror isn't generated by the sharks, who remain hungry for human flesh as the genre demands, but by someone of our species much wilder than the sharks. Australian director Sean Byrne's film could be defined as a sort of Split , Shyamalan's masterpiece, on the high seas. The demon that unleashes the nightmare is the incarnation of the dark, very dark, and sadistic side of the unforgettable Robert Shaw, Captain Quint from Jaws , and he is played with great conviction by the actor Jai Courtney, with his robust physique and predatory gaze. Dangerous Animals is, therefore, in addition to being a horror film, a suspenseful thriller, tense and distressing.

Sean Byrne is no Shyamalan, he doesn't have the ability to enchant or unsettle with his staging, but he does know how to skillfully orchestrate fluid, vibrant, and colorful entertainment, ideal for these hot days. Byrne had already made two stimulating horror movies before: The Loved Ones , an effective and oppressive slasher, and The Devil's Candy , a satanic symphony set to heavy metal. Both were screened at the Sitges Film Festival in their respective years of production, but were not released commercially.

The Muértimers ★★✩✩✩Directed by: Álvaro Fernández ArmeroCast by: Iratxe Emparan, Diego Montejo, Melani GarcíaProduction: Spain, 2025 (90 minutes) Youth comedy To kill time

By Salvador Llopart

These Muértimers, like Enid Blyton's Famous Five novels or series and films like Scooby-Doo , are part of that branch of youth entertainment in which a group of teenagers confront a mystery, often of a supernatural nature. A lavishly produced film with a touch of the afterlife veered toward comedy, based on a graphic novel by French author Léa Mazé. The histrionics of the adult characters, mere caricatures at the service of the story, are more than compensated for by the dedication of the teenage performers. Especially the dedication of the lead couple, Diego Montejo and Iratxe Emparan, between whom a special chemistry emerges. A film of characters, then. In which its young protagonists imprint the character that the film as a whole lacks.

The Super Elfkins ★★✩✩✩Directed by: Ute von Münchow-PohlProduction: Germany, 2025 (76 minutes) Animation Nice nonsense

By S. Llopart

These little elves, called elfinks, with their traditional elf costumes and pointy elf hats, so German as they are, want to be Hollywood-style superheroes in this latest installment of their adventures (there was another installment back in 2020). To do so, they resolutely embrace superhero technology and have dizzying adventures through the towers of the impressive Cologne Cathedral. Solidarity, as a secret weapon, proves to be their best asset. Although there are glimpses of rebellion among the youngest, individualism is overcome and they end up integrating into the common good. The drawing, as simple and effective as the film itself, will convince the little ones. A well-intentioned animated proposal that should be prohibited to adults who are not accompanied by children under seven.

Nobody 2 ★★★✩✩Directed by: Timo TjahjantoCast by: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, John OrtizProduction: USA, 2025 (89 minutes) Action Even more hyperbolic

By J. Batlle

Nobody , a frenzied action comedy released four years ago, was directed by a Russian, Ilya Naishuller, and now Nobody 2 is directed by a German-born Indonesian who already has a legion of fans who know how to pronounce his last name correctly. Both demonstrate their skill in filming hyperbolic, even more hyperbolic, and even more parodic action in this sequel. The hero, the incomparable Bob Odenkirk, is still involved in dirty business but must take care of his family and goes on vacation to the same amusement park where he was happy as a child with his father, the no less incomparable Christopher Lloyd, who is also traveling with them. Needless to say, the vacation will end with an orgiastic bloodbath and more deaths than the Père-Lachaise Cemetery holds. The villain of the film, of unrefined cruelty, is Sharon Stone.

Mr. Nobody ★★✩✩✩Directed by: Miguel Ángel Calvo ButtiniCast by: Féliz Gómez, Ainara ElejaldeProduction: Spain, 2025 (92 minutes) Drama The Mysterious Vagabond

By J. Batlle

There are many homeless people on the streets, and surely many have a past that has nothing to do with the stinking poverty they now endure. The protagonist of Mr. Nobody , a man in his forties, is one of them. For the first twenty minutes, mystery pervades the character, always silent, sad, and lonely. We follow him with curiosity day and night. A young woman from an NGO tries to establish a relationship with him, to help him, but it's an impossible task. Then the flashbacks come, and we begin to outline who this man was. You even wonder if he isn't an updated version of William Powell from the masterful Serving the Ladies. But the more we learn about his past, the less interest the story arouses. Note the picturesque supporting role of the veteran Myriam Mézières, Alain Tanner's muse.