ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — This February, we review a zany new sci-fi adventure from the director of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” an Oscar-nominated documentary about senior opera singers and the concluding installment of a horror movie trilogy. Which should you see, stream or skip? Find out below.

You should see…

“GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE” (2025, 134 min., directed by Gore Verbinski)

No one would be more justified in their complete and utter distaste for artificial intelligence creeping its way into movies than Gore Verbinski. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Ring” director is responsible for some of the most accomplished displays of CGI of all time, rendering digital characters that still look breathtaking today. Just one of Davy Jones’ beard tentacles, for instance, is floating 10,000 leagues above any AI-generated image.

Therefore, it tracks that “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” Verbinski’s gonzo new sci-fi comedy, posits AI as a world-ending force of evil.

Verbinski’s film stars a very game Sam Rockwell as “The Man From The Future,” a disheveled, neurotic and nameless time traveler. The film opens with the shaggy-bearded, raincoat-rocking man materializing inside of a diner to accost its patrons. TMFTF tells his captive audience that he is on a quest to save their future, but he needs a few volunteers to help. He is almost instantly regarded by the restaurant as a lunatic, unaided by the bomb jacket strapped to his chest. Rockwell is great, going as big, loud and bonkers as possible in the part.

The diner stretch of “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” is staged like a short film. I’d argue it might have been better as one, too. TMFTF makes for a great protagonist, and Verbinski’s fun, energetic direction whips him around the confined space like a hamster in a wheel. A good short film usually has a couple of memorable side characters, and plenty of the diner guests get their 15 seconds to shine, including star-studded standouts like Zazie Beetz, Michael Peña and Haley Lu Richardson. Every short needs a core idea, and the “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” diner delivers, communicated through TMFTF’s fondness for gesticulating at his captives’ phones. The downfall of society, he tell them, will come courtesy of their addiction to their digital devices. The downfall of the film would come after leaving the diner.

That’s a bit dramatic. To color in just a little more of the premise, TMFTF does manage to recruit a gaggle of diner patrons to his cause. The ragtag team then embarks on a journey to root out the source of the AI apocalypse before it can transpire. Along the way, there are car chases, bizarre CGI creatures and flashbacks galore. Verbinski was clearly having the time of his life shaping his playground, and Rockwell was well up to the task of executing his vision. However, at 134 jam-packed minutes, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” is as much of a mouthful as its title. The zaniness loses its edge after the first hour or so, the ending is a big swing and the messaging about smart phones and AI never quite evolves beyond “this technology is bad and ruining our lives.”

Despite feeling slightly dubious about the audacious entirety of “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,” you know what they say. It’s all about the journey, not the destin-AI-tion. A new Verbinski is always worth seeing.

Rating: 3/5

“Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” will be released in theaters nationwide on Feb. 13.

You should stream…

“VIVA VERDI!” (2024, 78 min., directed by Yvonne Russo)

The most obscure film at this year’s Academy Awards has got to be “Viva Verdi!,” a documentary about several musicians in their senior years living at Casa Verdi, an Italian retirement home founded by the famous opera composer Giuseppe Verdi.

I am happy to report that the tiny documentary, which had only been released at a few small film festivals before it picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, is a bite-sized bit of joy, wisdom and opera music.

Listen to the Oscar-nominated “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” with music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike, here:

The doc opens with an epigraph:

“Among my works, the one I like best is the Home that I’ve built in Milan for accommodating old singers not favored by fortune.” – Giuseppe Verdi

While the sentiment about Casa Verdi itself is certainly shared by each of the film’s interviewees, they are all favored with a tremendous amount of fortune. At least, if you count living in a tight-knit, loving community as fortunate. While the documentary subjects vary in age, personality and background, they are each bonded by an incredible love for the arts – especially opera. “Viva Verdi!” illuminates Casa Verdi as an artistic conservatory masquerading as a retirement community. Through showcasing its subjects’ talents, the film is an ode to the power of the arts to keep each of us young at heart.

The documentary is easy viewing, running only an hour and 18 minutes. Its subjects are charming without end – pay special attention to the gregarious Claudio Giombi – and the music is gorgeous. Plus, with only 100-odd ratings on IMDb and just shy of 1,200 logs on Letterboxd, watching “Viva Verdi!” would instantly put you in a rarefied community of opera enjoyers, almost like the residents of Casa Verdi itself.

Rating: 3/5

“Viva Verdi!” is now streaming at www.vivaverdithefilm.com/watch.

You should skip…

“THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 3” (2026, 92 min., directed by Renny Harlin)

It has been a few blessed months without a new installment in Renny Harlin’s misbegotten trilogy of “The Strangers” movies. In unfortunate tidings for the series’ return, my rating has dropped from an enviable 1/5 for “The Strangers: Chapter 2” to half a star for “The Strangers: Chapter 3.” These movies are uniquely awful. The only thing strange about “The Strangers: Chapter 3” is that Lionsgate didn’t can it after the dismal reaction to the first two.

I’ve written about these films before, so at risk of repeating myself over a dully repetitious sequel, I will simply state that these are the definitional antithesis of their source material. In the original “Strangers” film, which came out in 2008 to modest success, the scariest part was the nihilistic randomness of its masked killers. They, anonymous, motiveless and deadly, were the titular “Strangers.” Meanwhile, Harlin has now spent three films attempting to unmask the villains through excruciatingly lame childhood flashbacks. It’s like the director and his screenwriters, Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, the masterminds behind 2010’s “Due Date,” misread the title on top of the poster. “The Deeply Understood Psychopaths: Chapter 3” didn’t have the same ring, I guess.

It doesn’t help that Madelaine Petsch, the protagonist of the trilogy, is closer to a slice of stale bread than a scream queen. Her performance, which could be generously described as “steely” or “withdrawn,” is more lifeless than the victims of the killers. Speaking of which, there are many victims in this film, but for all the horror and/or gore fans out there, I regret to inform that not a single one is memorable enough to cheer, wince or groan at. At least “Chapter 2” had a bizarre subplot with a giant killer boar.

For another movie about a giant killer boar, click here to read our review of “Send Help,” now playing in theaters.

It has been rumored that the three chapters might eventually be cut into one colossal “The Strangers” film. I cannot imagine a worse way to spend 4.5 hours. Even if you have never seen them and were the slightest bit tempted, if I were you, I would remain a stranger to these “Strangers.”

Rating: .5/5

“The Strangers: Chapter 3” is now playing in theaters nationwide.