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!