The Electric State

 My View:  The Electric State  (2025)  PG-13  The Electric State takes place after a robot uprising. Following their defeat, robots were sent to a fenced-in area known as The Electric State in the American West. Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) is determined to find her long-lost brother in The Electric State and is helped by a low-rent smuggler (Chris Pratt) and a wisecracking robot named Herman (Anthony Mackie). The duo are about to discover that maybe the world was mistaken about the robots. This film might have half-way worked on the big screen, with all the robots milling around, either in a mall or in the big, what was meant to be a big, spectacular battle scene at the end. However, as a streaming movie, it fails because we don’t care about any of the characters, including the robots. Ok, maybe I cared a little about Mr. Peanut (yep, that one), the leader of the robots, who is voiced by an almost unrecognizable Woody Harrelson. The Electric State is an alternate past movie, where Walt Disney created robots for Disneyland, which became a thing where the robots started doing all our grunt work, got fed up, and rebelled. This two-hour and eight-minute film directed by the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: End Game) shows what happens when you get an unlimited budget where none of the money went into making the script or the characters work. The three main human characters are all such one-dimensional cartoon characters that we never get to know them; only they are full of quips that don’t work and a storyline that expects us to understand their relationships without giving us a way to do that. Pratt looks ridiculous, and his character is such a throwback to his Guardians character that he must have gotten whiplash. Brown is asked to carry the emotional aspect of the film, first with her long lost younger brother, who she tearfully remembers at almost every moment, so much so we want to shake her to snap her out of it. Then there is the evil scientist/Musk-like character played by Stanley Tucci, who is right out of a DC comic book from the 50s; so wooden and way too easy to figure out that he is evil and behind everything. Oh, and the message of the film? Robots are people, too. Boy, they spent a lot of money to get over that notion. Regrettably, it wasn't spent on the script.  My Rating: Cable  The Electric State Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

My View:  Black Bag  (2025) R  In Black Bag, Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) and her husband, George (Michael Fassbender), have a perfect marriage. Except for the fact that they are both intelligence agents that can’t talk about their jobs. When Kathryn is suspected of betraying her nation, George faces the ultimate test: loyalty to his loving wife or his country. Steven Soderbergh gives us a spy caper that lets two extraordinary actors perform at their finest. Black Bag is not your ordinary spy film, full of action sequences, but a film filled with smaller moments that are clever and exquisitely done, keeping you guessing on just who is guilty and who is innocent. It’s a game of cat and mouse, reminiscent of the great spy novels of Le Carre and Herron. Blanchett and Fassbender work together so well on screen that you believe that these two spies could save the world just by their charisma and wit. Black Bag is a polished, almost silky smooth spy caper where you don’t know who to trust or who to even suspect; you just know that George will figure it out. The only question is whether George’s love for his wife means that he will have to betray his country. The great thing about Black Bag is that you will find out in the end and thoroughly enjoy the mystery all along the way to that end. Black Bag is one of the best spy films of the past ten years, and anyone who loves watching a spy film that isn’t easy to figure out will love this film as much as I did.  My Rating: Full Price Black Bag Website Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Novocaine  (2025)  R  Novocaine is about Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid), who has finally found the courage to ask Sherry (Amber Midthunder) out, and their date was incredible. Now, right in front of Nathan’s eyes, the bank that she works at is held up, and she is taken hostage. What’s a guy to do but go to her rescue? What her kidnappers don’t know is that Nathan has a condition where he is incapable of feeling pain. To bring her back, he will need it. I want to warn you that this film is filled with broken bones, blood splatters, gunshot wounds, and people getting hurt in horrible and also amusing ways. And most of those things happen to our hero, Nathan. I had so much fun watching this film, though I will admit I had to look away a few times because of the savage and cruel ways that Nathan gets the crap beat, shot, stabbed out of him. Jack Quaid is perfect as the everyman who isn’t quite one because he can’t feel pain. That means Nathan has to be careful, even confining himself to a liquid diet because just about anything could be deadly, including biting his own tongue. There is a great running gag that his watch alarm goes off every 3 hours to remind him to pee, because he can’t feel the pain that we all feel when we have to go. I loved the chemistry between Quaid and Amber Midthunder, and the film sets up why Nathan is so quick to go to her rescue, even though he knows he could get hurt. Now I will admit the story does paint Nathan and Sherry into a corner that it doesn’t quite figure out how to get out of, but the film has a great time putting Nathan into situations where he can get really hurt and still survive to keep going on the chase. So get ready to advert your eyes a few times and go on adventure with Nathan as he slowly, surely falls apart as his body takes a beating and a few, ok, a lot of broken bones, to save the girl of his dreams.  My Rating: Full Price  Novocaine Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Familyfaire:  The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie  (2024) PG   In The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, who does Earth turn to when there is an alien invasion? Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, of course. Looney Tunes cartoons have always been a favorite of mine, having grown up watching them. While I feel that The Day the Earth Blew Up isn’t up to the standard of the cartoons of the past, it still is better than many of the weak animated films of the past few years. I kept waiting for a few other characters to show up from the Warner Brothers vault, but it’s solely the pig and the ducks’ picture, with some help from Petunia Pig. The plot is fun, with a couple of cool scenes that were right out of the old Superman animated films of the 40s, and the film moves along with the two getting into lots of trouble. I had a good time and laughed out loud a few times, but I felt like I needed more sight gags and jokes that had some wit. Still, kids will have fun, and adults will enjoy seeing a couple of old friends to go down memory lane with.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Day the Earth Blew Up Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  Opus  (2025)  R  Opus is about Ariel (Ayo Edebiri), who has been picked to attend the first concert by iconic musician Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich), who is going to perform for the first time in thirty years. The only problem: Ariel may have to join Alfred’s cult before he will perform. Opus is worth a bargain matinee ticket to see John Malkovich have so much fun in the part, playing a whacked-out musician. Unfortunately, the rest of the film isn’t worth even that price after a fun 30-minute start, as the film never feels scary, and the plot starts advancing at a too-quick pace, leaving us gasping for breath that never comes. Opus is one of those films where you question whether you have seen a movie with a plot like this or even the movie itself. About halfway through the hour and forty-three-minute runtime, I felt trapped just like Ariel does. And Opus has an ending that feels just too smug, but then again I guess Alfred Moretti was too.  My Rating: Cable  Opus Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Parenting  (2025) R   In The Parenting, Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) are hosting their respective parents in a weekend country house rental. Things go downhill quickly when they discover the presence of a 400-year-old evil entity. The Parenting doesn’t know what it wants to be: a horror film that’s a comedy or a comedy that’s a horror film. Either way, it doesn't work, which is too bad with a cast that includes Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, and the always amazing Parker Posey. The movie seems like a bad Saturday Night Live skit, which is not unusual given that the screenwriter is a long-time writer of the late-night show. The Parenting never finds its way unless you think prolonged vomiting is funny or a dog being crushed by a cabinet is hilarious. Along the way, there are horrible jokes about parenting, slurs about homosexuality, and an ending that feels like the writer decided to take an easy way out of a plot that wasn’t working. So, along the way, you won’t laugh at the comic bits, and you won’t get scared by the horror bits. So what do you have left? A movie that fails from the outset. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again    The Parenting Website  Now playing on the Max format.

My View:  Control Freak  (2025)   Control Freak revolves around Val (Kelly Marie Tran), a motivational speaker whose TED talks have become legendary for inspiring thousands to take control of their lives. Val’s fans are unaware that she is a tangled mess of anxiety that has caused her scalp to itch constantly. What Val at first chalks up to stress, the constant itching becomes something evil, an evil that will take Val onto the edge of madness. Val is a woman who, on the surface, appears to be in control but is actually losing control on the inside. I liked Kelly Marie Tran’s performance, but the film takes too long to establish that there are possible forces other than stress that are getting a hold of Val. It’s hard to tell from the storyline if all of this is in Val’s head or if there really is an evil force that has been living inside of Val since her birth. The film starts with an interesting idea of a woman who tells the world how to fix their problems by taking charge of them but can’t/won’t take charge of her own problems. However, the film goes too far into the horror aspect and blames everything on that evil being. By the end of the film, I just wanted it to be done with, but even with the film’s last shot, we see it will continue. I am just glad that it didn’t.  My Rating: Cable  Control Freak Info  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

My View:  Chaos: The Manson Murders  (2025) The documentary Chaos: The Manson Murders is a look into alternative theories surrounding one of the world’s most famous murder cases. Could there be unexpected connections to government agencies involving mind control experiments or a major coverup? The film is from Earl Morris, who won the 2004 Academy Award for his documentary The Fog of War, and is based on CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, a 2019 nonfiction book written by Tom O’Neill. This is a documentary that throws out a lot of theories against the wall of true-crime, hoping some of them will stick long enough for you to think that they might be true. The film is mostly O’Neill being interviewed by Morris, with one theory after another being presented in front of us. The most significant theory of the film is that Manson was part of the CIA mind control experiments and that he was allowed to carry on because he either knew too much or was part of their continuing experiment. What Morris gives us are just guesses and very flimsy ideas, which O'Neill presents to us as facts. At no time does anyone say that Manson wasn’t behind the killings, and in fact, a few of the facts show he was behind even more. Are you going to learn more about Manson and the reason for the murders? It will depend on whether you want to go down a deep, very sketchy rabbit hole of even sketchier facts or just go with the fact that Manson was a deeply troubled person who was able to brainwash young men and women with lots of drugs and paranoia. You choose. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Chaos: The Manson Murders Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

My View:  Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna  (2025)   Last Take is a documentary that looks at what happened on that fatal day when Alex Baldwin accidentally shot and killed celebrated indie cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust in 2021. Last Take is a thoughtful and touching tribute to an up-and-coming cinematographer who had not only a promising career but a family, both of her own and of the people she worked with. Sadly, all was lost on that film set that day, and while the film doesn’t give you all the answers you want, it shows how talented Halyna was and how much she was loved. Last Take shows just how badly mistakes were made and kept being made up to the shooting, things that could have been prevented, including disharmony on the film set. We see that the accident didn’t have to happen, but most of the camera crew left the shoot short-handed after they voiced concerns about safety and working conditions. The film does an excellent job with behind-the-scenes photos, footage, and interviews with all except Baldwin and the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. The movie they planned to make was doomed from the beginning, including the fact that Gutierrez-Reed was a last-minute choice after two more experienced armorers refused the job. Last Take does an excellent job of letting us see what it is like working on an Indie film, where everyone is overworked, sometimes having to do two or three jobs at once, and always worried about costs and if the money will hold out. While part of the title is ‘the Story of Halyna’, I wanted more about the woman and a little less about the movie she was making. I wanted it to be more of a tribute to someone who didn’t deserve to die because of negligence. The film doesn’t give answers to why live ammunition was on the set or why the gun went off, things we may never know, and that’s a frustrating part of this film. However, maybe that’s the point. We don't always get the answers we want, and even if we did, it wouldn't change a life that was lost. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Last Take Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

Forgotten Film:  Hunger  (2008)  The story of the Irish republican inmates of a prison in Northern Island who go on a hunger strike to protest the conditions and the belief that they are political prisoners, not criminals. The strike is led by Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), who believes that the only way he can get the world to pay attention is to die from hunger. This was the first feature film from filmmaker Steve McQueen, who has since created an incredible body of work, including the Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave. Hunger is the film that put both McQueen and Fassbender in the spotlight, as Fassbender gives a stellar and moving performance of a man whose body and mind are pushed to the limits. Sands, along with nine other prisoners, died for the cause, and we are given an inside look at how horrible life was in the prison both before and during the hunger strike. Hunger is an unforgettable film that will stay with you long after the last scene. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Hunger Info The film is available on BluRay/DVD disc. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Novocaine:  Breakdown Trainees

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  A Working Man  (2025)  R  Levon Cade (Jason Statham) is a man who left his profession to work a simple construction job and take care of his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter vanishes, Levon uses his skills as a former legendary figure in the world of black ops to go on the hunt. Levon soon learns that his search for the missing college student will take him deep into a sinister criminal conspiracy. The film is directed by David Ayer, who also directed Statham in the fun and bold 2024 film The Beekeeper.  A Working Man Website  The film will be in theaters on Friday, March 28, 2025. 

Until Next Time!

Mickey 17

My View:  Mickey 17  (2025) R  Mickey 17 is about Mickey (Robert Pattinson), who is unhappy with his life, and so he signs up to be an ‘expendable’, a disposable crew member on a space mission. As an expendable, Mickey is given dangerous tasks because he can be ‘renewed’ if he dies. Two problems: He renews with his memories intact, and something has gone wrong, and now there are two Mickeys. I have been a fan of Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho for quite a while. His films like The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), and Parasite (2019) were imaginative, creative and always had a biting sense of humor that combined with a lot to say about the state of the world, politics, and class. So it’s no surprise that Mickey 17 combines all of those factors and more into a delightful film that goes on too long to keep the film from feeling bloated and a bit out of control. Pattinson is enjoyable in the role of the sad-sack Mickey, who, while he gets the girl, keeps getting killed in lots of horrible ways. It’s a brilliant performance that Pattinson milks for everything he can, especially when the 2nd Mickey shows up, giving us two different takes on what we might have thought would be the same person but aren’t. There are some hilarious moments, mostly because of Pattinson’s way of making Mickey go along with his fate, no matter how bad it’s going to be. The film takes too long to get to the end, and it seems that Bong seems to lose the focus of the film, throwing out too many ideas at us, including some retreads of subjects from his previous films like Okja and Snowpiercer. Still, I had fun watching Mickey keep dying, and while watching Naomi Ackie as Nasha, Mickey’s girlfriend, have a blast playing a woman who loves Mickey but wants a little bit more. I wish the film had kept its focus on the subject and gotten to a conclusion sooner.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Mickey 17 Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View: In the Lost Lands  (2025) R  In the Lost Lands, a powerful witch named Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) and a hunter named Boyce (Dave Bautista), who journey into a dangerous landscape known as the “Lost Lands” to retrieve a magical artifact for a queen. Gray is the only one who knows that every spell she casts has unimaginable consequences. I have become a big fan of Dave Bautista, and while I don’t think Milla Jovovich is a great actress, she has a charisma that bursts off the screen. Add in that this film isn’t based on a video game but a short story by George R.R. Martin, and it should have been at least watchable. However, it’s not. The dialogue is so bad that it is laughable, and while the action sequences are fun, there isn’t enough of them to make the film work on that level. Instead, we get a film with too many working parts, a couple of big scenes that end way too easily, and an ending that is pleading for a sequel or two. In the Lost Lands reminded me of those straight-to-video sword and sorcerer films of the 80s, and we have gone too far to go back to those days. My Rating: Cable    In the Lost Lands Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Familyfaire:  Plankton: The Movie (2025) TV-PG  In Plankton: The Movie, tired of being taken for granted, Karen the Computer is going to do what Plankton has failed to do over the past twenty-five years: Take over the world. Plankton now has to stop her with the help of a few friends, including one named SpongeBob. SpongeBob fans will have fun with this film, as two of the supporting characters, Plankton and his ‘wife’ Karen the Computer, are featured in this film about Karen quitting being in Plankton’s shadow and taking over the world herself. There are plenty of songs in the film, and small kids will love all the hijinks that Plankton and Karen get into. No fear, SpongeBob fans, as he will help defeat Karen’s attempt at taking over the world, and everything will return to normal.  Well, normal for the world of SpongeBob and his friends.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Plankton: The Movie Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest:  There’s Still Tomorrow  (2023)  There’s Still Tomorrow is set in postwar 1940s Italy, where Delia (Paola Cortellesi) is in an unhappy marriage and the mother of three. She sees that her oldest daughter is about to repeat the same mistake that Delia did by going into a bad marriage, and plots to stop the marriage in any way she can. There’s Still Tomorrow is a film about love lost, domestic violence, trying to make up for mistakes of the past, and sacrifice. Directed by Paola Cortellesi, she also stars as the film’s central character, a woman who is in an unhappy marriage with a man who hits her for any little mistake she makes, all the while she struggles to keep her family together in a post-WWII Italy. Cortellesi commands the screen, and we root for her character as we follow her on a quest to help her daughter get out of under the control of her husband. This is a usual film, as some scenes where Delia is abused are shown as musical dance numbers. It’s a surreal look at a serious subject and takes a bit of getting used to. Shot in beautiful black and white, as an homage to the films shot in Italy after the war, the film makes a case for Delia to leave and find happiness with an old love she broke up with long ago. The film is worth watching because of Cortellesi’s performance and for the last ten minutes of the film, which gives us an ending that you will not expect. There’s Still Tomorrow is an incredible film that covers a lot of subject that isn’t beautiful at all but has a character at its center that you will fall in love with.  My Rating: Full Price  There's Still Tomorrow Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

My View:  Picture This  (2025)   In Picture This, Pia (Simone Ashley) is a struggling photographer who receives a prediction: true love and career success await her on her next five dates. The only problem is her ex (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) has reappeared, throwing her love life and career into a big mess. Picture This is a rom-com that has more comedy than romance, mostly because the romance part doesn’t start until near the end of the film, in a very Hallmark way. The film works because of Simone Ashley, who has a knack for comedy, and the camera loves her. The film has our heroine trying to make a go of it as a portrait photographer while telling the world and her parents that she may never get married or have kids. We all know what will happen, but it’s fun to see Pia go on the four dates, all of which end in one disaster or another. Picture This is an enjoyable film that, while predictable, works because the lead is so funny and captivating. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Picture This Website  Now playing on Amazon Prime.

My View:  The Rule of Jenny Pen  (2025)  R  In The Rule of Jenny Pen, a former judge (Geoffrey Rush), after having a stroke, is sent to a secluded rest home, confined to a wheelchair. He becomes the target of a fellow resident (John Lithgow), who torments the residents at night with a child’s puppet, abusing them with deadly consequences. I had high hopes for this film due to the pairing of Lithgow and Rush, two actors who, when given just about anything, are at the top of their game. Unfortunately,, the two are let down by a script that starts strong but can’t sustain the suspense and takes itself into a corner it can’t escape. From the trailer, I was expecting a horror film mixed with a psychological thriller. I wanted a film where the two characters were in a war of wits, but instead, it was the strong taking advantage of the weak. Like the doll that Lithgow’s character carries around, the plot is hollow and short on any sort of scares. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Rule of Jenny Pen Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View: Becoming Katharine Graham  (2025)  This is a documentary on Katharine Graham, who went from being a housewife to running The Washington Post during a time when the Vietnam War and the dirty tricks of the Nixon administration were tearing the country apart. This is a brilliant documentary on an amazing woman who became CEO of a publishing company when women were seen as only secretaries in the workforce; Katherine worked for a few years until they could get married and then take care of the household, their bread-winning husband, and raise a few kids. We see that Graham, who took over the reins of the Post when her husband committed suicide, had to learn very quickly how to survive in a ‘man’s world,’ but she soon put her mark on the company. The film focuses on key moments in Graham’s life: her marriage that ended so tragically, the release of the Pentagon Papers, which cemented the opposition to the Vietnam War, the Watergate break-in and coverup, which to the Washington Post, ultimately brought down a President, and then a crippling union strike at the Post. It’s an amazing story, one that, when both the book and Oscar-winning movie All the President’s Men came out, ignored her courageous role in the continuing coverage of the Watergate break-in. I learned just how alone the Washington Post was when they started and continued the coverage of Watergate. Graham, even when Nixon and his associates tried to ruin Graham, stood fast and kept fighting. Becoming Katharine Graham is a film that needs to be seen in our current times, showing how important a free press is to democracy, keeping us safe from those who would rather only let one side of the story be told.  My Rating: Full Price   Becoming Katharine Graham Website Now playing on Amazon Prime. 

Forgotten Film:  Memphis Belle  (1990) PG-13  In 1943, a crew of a B-17 airplane based in the UK prepares for its 25 mission. If they come back from this bombing mission over Germany, they get to go back home to the US. It’s going to take all the skill and luck that the crew has to get back to base. Based loosely on a WWII documentary of the same name, the film shows us just how dangerous their bombing raids were and how it took the crew right to the edge to complete their mission. The cast is full of young actors from the late 80s and ‘90s who were either stars or about to be, including Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D. B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, and Sean Astin. This is a well-made war film that will keep you on the edge of your seat, with some outstanding performances.  My Rating: Full Price  Memphis Belle Info  Available to rent/buy on Apple TV and Amazon. 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Mickey 17:  Standby Property Hands

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: A Minecraft Movie  (2025) PG  Four misfits suddenly find themselves pulled through a mysterious portal, landing in a strange, cubic world that thrives on creativity and imagination. To get back home, they will need help from a peculiar resident to master this bizarre world. The cast includes Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, Jemaine Clement, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Sebastian Hansen. In theaters on Friday, April 4, 2025. 

Until Next Time!

Mike’s Fearless Oscar Picks for 2025

As always these are who I think are going to win on Sunday night, not who I think should win.  If I have a Spoiler listed, it's a film that I think has a chance to win

Winners in Green.

Best Picture:  Anora                                              Spolier:  Conclave

Best Director:  Sean Baker - Anora                                  Spoiler:  Brady Corbet - The Brutalist

Best Actress:   Demi Moore - The Substance

Best Actor:  Adrien Brody - The Brutalist                Spoiler:  Timothee Chalamet - A Complete Unknown

Best Supporting Actress:  Zoe Saldana - Emilia Perez

Best Supporting Actor:  Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

Best Adapted Screenplay:  Conclave

Best Original Screenplay:  Anora                                   Spoiler:  A Real Pain

Best Cinematography:   The Brutalist

Best Costume Design:  Wicked

Best Film Editing:  Conclave                                               Spoiler: Anora

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:  The Substance            Spoiler:  Wicked

Best Production Design:  Wicked                                   Spoiler:  The Brutalist

Best Score:  The Brutalist

Best Song:  El Mal - Emilia Perez                                       Spoiler:  The Journey - The Six Triple Eight

Best Sound:  Dune: Part Two                                             Spoiler:  Wicked

Best Visual Effects:  Dune: Part Two

Best Animated Feature:  The Wild Robot                     Spoiler: Flow

Best Documentary Feature:  Porcelain War                 Spoiler: No Other Land  

Best International Film:  Emilia Perez                           Spoiler:   I’m Still Here 

Best Animated Short:  Yuck!                                            Spoiler:  Wander to Wonder

Best Documentary Short:  I Am Ready, Warden     Spoiler:  The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Live Action Short:  The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent         Spoiler:  A Lien

Last Breath

My View: Last Breath  (2025)  PG-13   Last Breath is about a group of seasoned deep-sea divers who battle a rough sea and the odds to try to save a diver stuck hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface with only 10 minutes of oxygen left. Early in the film, Chris (Finn Cole) tries to reassure his fiancee (Bobby Rainsbury) by telling her that deep sea diving is like astronauts taking a spacewalk. She tells her soon-to-be husband, ‘Why would that make me feel better?’ and we, as the audience, agree. Like Gravity or Apollo 13, this is a movie about beating the odds, where the audience is holding their breath as a rescue goes on and the clock is counting down. Last Breath is a well-done thriller as we follow three divers on a mission to repair an oil pipeline, and things go wrong fast. Our three divers are Duncan (Woody Harrelson), the smart-aleck veteran, Dave (Simu Liu) who is called The Vulcan (like Spock in Star Trek), a no-nonsense diver, and the young buck on the dive, Chris (Finn Cole), who is a protégée of Duncan. We quickly learn that this is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, where the divers have to go into a special container on the ship to get their bodies ready for the dive and then go into a diving bell that is subject to the swells underwater, just like the boat they are connected to on the surface of the ocean. Last Breath does an outstanding job of letting us get to know the characters and how they deal with this perilous job. The underwater sequences are amazing, revealing the difficulty of walking a few feet without becoming lost in the dark waters. The underwater action scenes are exhilarating and keep you on the edge of your seat as the probability of returning decreases throughout the film. The story of Last Breath is a thrilling one of perseverance, skill, and the determination to overcome what appears impossible. You might have to catch your own breath by the end of the film.  My Rating: Full Price  Last Breath Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  Riff Raff  (2024)  R  In Riff Raff, Vincent (Ed Harris) is an ex-con who just wants to spend the holidays in his secluded getaway home with his wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and her son DJ (Miles J. Harvey). Instead, everyone is coming to the house with a grudge to bear, including two hitmen (Bill Murray and Pete Davidson) who are on a killing spree that won’t stop until they get what they want. Riff Raff is a film that, on paper, looks to be a winner, but when filmed, it never quite fits together into a plot that never delivers its promise. The highlight of the film is the pairing of Murray and Davidson, who play a couple of hitmen who keep changing the rules on who they can or will kill. Regrettably, the two are not the main focus of the film, and the rest of the plot/characters do not deliver what our two killers do. The film puts too much effort into creating multiple backstories that don't provide enough value to justify the storyline. It would have been great if the first hour and a half of the film had been as fascinating and intense as the final fifteen minutes. I am just not sure it’s worth meandering through the rest of the film to get to the end.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Riff Raff Website Now playing in theaters.

My View:  My Dead Friend Zoe  (2024) R  In My Dead Friend Zoe, Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) is a former U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran whose best friend is fellow vet Zoe (Natalie Morales). The only problem is Zoe is dead, and only Merit can see and hear her. Now Merit has to help her estranged grandfather, Dale (Ed Harris), who is holed up in the family lake house. Dale has begun to lose his way and needs the one thing Merit has a hard time giving: help. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, which is part comedy/part drama as a vet deals with two things: she must comply with group therapy, and she has to deal with her grandfather, also an Army vet, who is having a hard time dealing with living alone after his wife has died. Adding to these problems, Merit is not dealing with life very well, as it seems her only friend is someone who isn’t alive and only she can see. Merit refuses to participate in the court-ordered group therapy led by a Vietnam vet (Morgan Freeman). Although she shows up, she never contributes to discussions and is more interested in hearing what her dead friend has to say than what is happening in the group. Merit is also dealing with her grandfather, wonderfully played by Ed Harris, who has exhibited signs that he might be developing Alzheimer’s. We have seen the returning soldier dealing with PTSD problems in films before, but rarely is it where the problem is that the lead character refuses to tell her story of grief because Merit feels if she does, she will lose her best friend, someone who Merit feels she can’t live without, even if she isn’t real. Because Zoe is real to Merit. I loved the conversations between Merit and Zoe, both in flashbacks to their time in the Army and in the present, as Merit deals with her current life. My Dead Friend Zoe is a warm, funny film that cares about its characters, including all the vets in Merit’s therapy group. Sonequa Martin-Green gives us a powerful performance of a woman who is lost and doesn’t see a way to find her way out. As the feisty Zoe, Natalie Morales is brilliant as the wild and wonderful Zoe, always ready to make a snappy comment and be there for Merit, both in the living past and the ghostly present. And then we have a remarkable performance by Ed Harris, as a tough-as-nails Army veteran who knows his world is changing but doesn't want anyone to help him. My Dead Friend Zoe is an emotional journey of a film that will make you laugh but also make you shed a few tears because sometimes life is hard and it’s harder still to ask for help.  My Rating: Full Price  My Dead Friend Zoe Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Lilith (1964)   A war vet turned occupational therapist (Warren Beatty) starts working at a mental institution when he meets and starts falling for a patient named Lilith (Jean Seberg) The ex-soldier has all sorts of problems of his own, including lots of mommy issues because his mother took her own life after years of mental problems. Lilith is a seductive woman who has schizophrenia. She is a woman that seemingly everyone, including some women, wants to sleep with. Lilith is a film that was based on a best-selling book that, at the time, was shocking in its dealing with sex. The problem is that this movie was made in the early 60s before studios and censorship were dealing better with issues like sex and mental illness. So, a lot of what goes on in the film is implied. At the time, Beatty was Hollywood’s new Golden Boy, and Seberg was hot off her films made in France, which made her a massive star. What I like about this film is that you get to see how talented an actress Seberg was. Plus, the supporting cast is filled with some very young stars just starting out, including Peter Fonda, Gene Hackman, and Jessica Walter. Although the ending is a bit bizarre, it's worth watching Jean Seberg and all those incredibly young, soon-to-be stars.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Lilith Info  The film is available to buy/rent on Amazon and Apple TV.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Last Breath: Scaffolding Manager

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Death of a Unicorn  (2025)  R   A father, along with his daughter, visit his billionaire boss on a retreat which is on a wildlife preserve. During their stay, they come across a sight they never imagined was alive: a unicorn. Some at the retreat want to kill it, and some want to save it. No one knows how much danger each one of them is in. The film stars Jenna Ortega, Paul Rudd, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant.   Death of a Unicorn Website  The will be in theaters on March 28,, 2025.

Until Next Time!