The Roses

My View: The Roses  (2025) R  The Roses is about Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman), who are a married couple with a beautiful house and two kids. Ivy is an incredibly successful chef whose influence is growing worldwide. Theo is an architect who has lost his job and is unhappy in his marriage. Theo decides he wants a divorce, and the war between the couple is on. I am a fan of the 1989 film The War of the Roses, which starred Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. It’s a black comedy that pushes the boundaries of violence to the extreme. My issue with this film is that we spend way too much time giving us a slow burn on how a marriage starts to fall apart. The problem is that what we are all waiting for and what the trailer promises, the absurdity of the duel between the two, takes way too long to get there, and then most of what happens, we have already seen in the trailer. Colman and Cumberbatch are fantastic actors, but too often they are given lines that are supposed to be punchlines but have no impact or “punch” to them. By the time we reached the end, I was worn out and incredibly disappointed with the film’s conclusion. Unlike the 1989 film, I didn’t buy into the notion that these two people hated each other so much that they were willing to inflict harm on one another. For a film to turn dark, there needs to be a solid reason behind it. In this case, the only reason I saw was that we were nearing the end of the film, creating a rushed attempt to deliver what we had been expecting from the start.   My Rating: Cable  The Roses Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Caught Stealing  (2025) R  In Caught Stealing, Hank (Austin Butler) is a burned-out ex-baseball player who barely survives by being a bartender. His neighbor has asked him to cat-sit, but what Hank doesn’t realize is that he is also unknowingly holding something that attracts the attention of every gangster in New York City, including a cop, the Russian mob, and a pair of Jewish gangsters. It’s fun when you get to see an actor start to realize that they are star material. It’s fun when you get to see an actor start to realize that they are star material. Austin Butler delivers a stunning performance as a man drowning in guilt and broken dreams. He finds solace in booze and sex with a girlfriend, Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), who wants Hank to commit, not only to her but also to opening up about his feelings. Unlike a lot of heroes, Hank, once he gets involved in the chase to find what his neighbor has left, just wants it to be over and as quickly as possible. The challenge is that there are too many dangerous individuals want what they believe Hank has. Caught Stealing is a film that, in one moment, is very funny and, in another, takes a very dark turn, with an incredible body count by the end of the film. The film is enhanced by a superb supporting cast, including a scene-stealing performance by a Jewish grandmother named Bubbe, played by Carol Kane. I thoroughly enjoyed this wild ride, and I had no idea if or how Hank was going to get out of this alive. The film continues to ramp up the stakes and tension, and even when we discover what the villains want, we still don’t know where the film is headed. Oh, and by the way, in the grand tradition of films like Inside Llewyn Davis and Harry and Tonto, there is a cat that you will fall in love with. Like Hank, I’m not a cat person, but I fell for this cat.  My Rating: Full Price  Caught Stealing Website Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  The Toxic Avenger  (2023)  R  The Toxic Avenger is about Winston (Peter Dinklage), a janitor at a health club. After a toxic accident, Winston transforms into the monstrous hero known as Toxie, who fights against corporate greed and corruption. If you had told the crew at Troma Entertainment back in the 80s that their movie would be remade and would star actors like Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Elijah Wood, Julia Davis, and Kevin Bacon, they would have thought you were nuts. The Toxic Avenger (2023) is a film that needs to be shown during a midnight screening with adoring fans. The small crowd that I saw it with at a 7 pm showing did not capture that energy. Kevin Bacon plays one of the villians and clearly has a lot of fun in the role, as does Elijah Wood as his sort of Igor. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t land many of the jokes, and it doesn’t have that made-for-buck-fifty charm that the original did. The kills carried out by Toxie also felt underwhelming and less exciting than those in the original, coming across as rather lame. I suppose it's tough to recreate a classic, especially one that was so low-budget, as that was part of what made it enjoyable in the first place. My Rating: Cable The Toxic Avenger Website Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Thursday Murder Club (2025)  PG-13   The Thursday Murder Club follows four retirees, Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), and Joyce (Celia Imrie), who get together to solve cold case murders for fun. When an unexplained death occurs on their own doorstep, they decide to take their sleuthing skills out into the real world to solve a crime. I am a big fan of TV mysteries, including a lot of the TV series we get from Britain. So I was happy to sit down and watch a stellar cast solve a mystery or two. While we have a cast that can act, they are saddled with a mystery that never really develops. The Thursday Murder Club is the ultimate fold-the-clothes-from-the-dryer mystery, where you pay attention for moments at a time when Helen Mirren or Pierce Brosnan are on the screen, having fun. Still, you don’t really care what happens, other than that the place they are staying at is saved. So sit on your comfy couch, pull up your clothes from the dryer or your knitting, and watch a murder mystery that you can miss ten minutes of and still enjoy.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Thursday Murder Club Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Forgotten Film: Locke  (2013) R  On the eve of the biggest day in his construction career, Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) gets a phone call that will change his life. Now he must make a huge decision –  to drive home to his wife and kids or to drive to London to deal with this new problem. Tom Hardy gives a Tour de Force performance in one of the best films of 2014. He is the only character you see on-screen as the film progresses in real time. A superb job by Hardy and its writer/director, Steven Knight, as they create suspense when tension rises with each phone call. Locke is beautifully shot at night, and almost all the cameras are placed inside the car, which effectively conveys the isolation and pressure that Hardy feels as the film progresses. This film is not to be missed, and I guarantee it will fly by faster than its 85-minute runtime.  Locke Info My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again Available on Amazon Prime.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Roses:  Personal Costume Standby for Mr. Cumberbatch

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Good Boy  (2025)  PG-13  A loyal dog, Indy, and his master, Todd (Shane Jensen), move to a rural family home. Soon, the dog learns supernatural forces are lurking in the shadows. Only Indy realizes the threat, and he must do everything he can to fight off the dark entities that threaten his human companion. The trailer for the film has already become an internet sensation. I am warning you: if I find out the dog dies, I will not be watching/reviewing the film.  Good Boy Website The film is in theaters on Friday, October 3, 2025. 

Until Next Time!