The Smashing Machine

My View:  The Smashing Machine  (2025)  R A look at three years (1997-2000) in the life of mixed-martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson). Supported by his girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt), Mark struggles to overcome addiction and make a comeback in the UFC universe, when the sport was beginning to gain popularity at the time. After seeing this film, which runs at a little over two hours, I kept thinking about the old Peggy Lee song “Is That All There Is.” The Smashing Machine is the first film Benny Safdie has made without his brother, Josh, and I feel as if he created a sports bio film that breaks all the rules of that genre. Unfortunately, what we are left with is a film that feels as if the plot is stuck in neutral and can never gain any momentum. I came away thinking that Mark Kerr, played by a heavily prosthetic Dwayne Johnson, is neither the hero of the film nor the most interesting character in it. Instead, Mark Coleman, Mark’s best friend and sparring partner slash manager, played by real-life MMA fighter Ryan Bader, comes off as the hero of the story. We never really get to know Mark Kerr or his girlfriend Dawn. Both are annoying and one-dimensional in the film, characters who seem to stay in one lane throughout the entire film. Sure, we get Mark as a man who develops an addiction to pain pills, but his journey is too simple and quick in his addiction and his recovery. We gain almost nothing from what should have been an essential part of his character and life. Emily Blunt is given the job of being the bad guy of the film, and it’s a thankless job that Blunt gives her all, but Dawn comes across as just a nut job and not a real person. Is this a different performance by Johnson from his usual action roles? Sure, but Kerr is such a weird guy that I didn’t see the role as being challenging or groundbreaking for Johnson to take on, mainly because we never get to know what makes Mark Kerr tick, other than the high he gets from beating the crap out of other men in the ring. The fight sequences are brutal and may make some viewers look away, but the film does a poor job of conveying that the early days of MMA were incredibly brutal, to the point where it was almost outlawed in both the U.S. and Japan. I came away wanting to see a film about Mark Coleman, as I think his story was far more interesting and exciting than that of Kerr’s. Benny Safie picked the wrong man in this fight.  My Rating: Cable The Smashing Machine Website  Now playing in theaters everywhere 

Indiefest:  Anemone  (2025) R   Anemone centers on a man (Sean Bean) who ventures into the isolated woodlands of Northern England to find his estranged brother (Daniel Day-Lewis). They haven’t seen each other in 20 years, and the brother has been living alone in the forest. As they reconnect, they will confront the personal and political traumas that have long been buried between them. Anemone is a film where style and bravado attempt to compensate for a weak script that provides us with very little information until it is too late. With a lush and almost surreal look, cinematographer Ben Fordesman gives us the look and feel of a horror film set in the woods. Instead, we get two men who are trying to come to terms with their past while attempting to save the life of a young man who is making the same mistakes they did in their own lives. I loved the score by Bobby Krli, which adds tension and, at times, dread to the film. However, two great actors like Sean Bean and Daniel Day-Lewis can’t overcome a script that gives us only bits and pieces of their characters, who spend a lot of their time together not speaking at all. It takes too long on the journey to provide us with the vital information about a man who ran away from life because of who he had become. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Anemone Website   In limited release on Friday, October 3, 2025, and wide release on Friday, October 10, 2025

My View:  Good Boy  (2025)  PG-13 In Good Boy, a loyal dog named Indy and his owner, 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. For once, this is a horror film that lives up to the hype it has generated. Indy, the dog, comes across as a better actor than many working in big-budget blockbusters. While it is a horror film and quite scary at that, it’s also about facing fear and prioritizing others’ well-being over your own. The film does have a short runtime, but I think the novelty might have worn thin if it had gone on much longer. Instead, we get a tight horror film with plenty of scares and a hero who is brave, trustworthy, and ready to defend the household from all that is evil. Heck, even cat lovers will root for Indy to protect his owner. You should definitely see this in theaters, as there is a short feature included after the final credits that discusses how the film was made and explains why it took three years to shoot.  My Rating: Full Price  Good Boy Website Now playing in theaters

My View:  Bone Lake  (2024)  R  Bone Lake is about Sage (Maddie Hasson) and Diego (Marco Pigossi), who are on a romantic getaway to a secluded estate. Their romantic weekend is upended when they discover a mysterious couple (Alex Roe and Andra Nechita) have also rented the estate. The two couples decide to share the estate, and the retreat devolves into a world of deception, desire, and manipulation. Sage and Diego may never be the same loving couple they were before they arrived.  I’m sorry, but calling this a horror film is very misleading and inaccurate. It’s kind of a mild erotic thriller, but I didn’t find it very erotic, and there weren't many thrills. I didn’t like any of the characters, which is a problem when you are supposed to root for one couple over another, but I wanted them all to meet a gruesome end. There is a problem with a thriller when you figure out the twist way before any of the characters figure it out. I had hopes that there would be a “double twist,” but the big reveal barely registers as a single twist. To say that Bone Lake doesn’t stick the landing would be an understatement.  My Rating: Cable  Bone Lake Website Now playing in theaters

My View: Play Dirty  (2025) R  Play Dirty is about Parker (Mark Wahlberg), a thief who is on the hunt for a woman, Zen (Rosa Salazar), who he wants to find after a night of passion. It turns out that Zen is about to commit a major heist, and Parker wants in on it, with his fellow thief, Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield). The only problem is that to carry out the plan, they must outsmart a South American dictator, the New York mob, and the world’s richest man. I am a huge fan of two Shane Black films: The Nice Guys (2016) and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), which I included on my Top 25 Films of the First 25 Years AFCC ballot. So I was excited to see Black’s new film, Play Dirty. Sadly, this film is a tremendous disappointment. I am not a big Mark Wahlberg fan, and he is not right for the part of Parker, a character created by writer Donald E. Westlake. Wahlberg is the type of actor who always seems to be on the verge of breaking up or wanting to say a funny quip. Westlake’s Parker doesn’t have a sense of humor. Play Dirty is a film that I think wants to be a comedy with a twist, but I found it lacked both. The twists the film does are too simple and feel right out of a 60s detective show. The film attempts to cover up the lack of a worthy plot with lots of action and a ton of killing. I haven’t seen this many kill shots since a ‘90s Hong Kong action film. The cast, which includes LaKeith Stanfield and Keegan-Michael Key, is wasted with horrible throwaway lines that don’t work. And Tony Shalhoub looks uncomfortable playing a mob boss who hates Parker. Play Dirty is a film, like its star, that has no charisma, made by a filmmaker who has lost his bite, humor, and wit.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again Play Dirty Website   Now streaming on Amazon Prime

Indiefest:  Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025)  Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror is a documentary that explores how a London theater play evolved into the beloved and groundbreaking cult phenomenon that continues to thrive through midnight screenings worldwide. I’ve seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show probably five or six times over the years. It was always a fun experience being part of a group of people who love a film and want to express that love with toast, newspapers, and lines shouted to the screen as fans dressed as their favorite characters dance and mouth lines in front of the movie screen they are parroting. Strange Journey is a fascinating film that recounts the history of a film that refused to die, even when it seemed destined to be a bomb. The documentary is directed by Linus O’Brien, the son of Richard O’Brien, the creator of the musical, who also starred in the film as Riff Raff, best known for the Time Warp song. I learned a great deal about the film’s history, including the fact that it was a hit on stage in London and LA (at the infamous Roxy) long before it became a movie. Besides Richard O’Brien and musical director Richard Hartley, the film features interviews with stars of the film, including Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, and Susan Sarandon. What I loved about this film is that it not only tells the story of how the film was made but also how it became a cult classic, highlighting the fans who made the movie the longest-running film in cinema history. Strange Journey is a film for fans of Rocky Horror and really shouldn’t be seen by “Virgins” (those who haven’t seen the film in a theater with an interactive crowd). Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror hit the right notes for me, who has always thought of The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a B-film with an A-crowd watching it.  My Rating: Full Price   Now playing in select theaters

My View: The Lost Bus  (2025)  R  The Lost Bus is about a bus driver, Kevin (Matthew McConaughey) who has to navigate a bus carrying children and their teacher (America Ferrera) through the 2018 Camp Fire, which was the deadliest fire in California history.The Lost Bus is a gripping and terrifying portrayal of a fire that devastated a community and killed 84 people. The film does an effective job of letting us into the life of Kevin, a man who is driving a bus to get by for another day. McConaughey teams up with the always brilliant America Ferrera, a teacher who is in charge of children whose parents are out of town. Together, they embark on a harrowing bus trip through danger, as most of the film's two-hour runtime unfolds on the bus, navigating their way out of peril while firefighters battle to contain the blaze. The film does a fantastic job of maintaining tension as Kevin tries to find a way out of the fire's path. The special effects are incredible, and the action sequences of the bus are worthy of any car chase in any film. The Lost Bus will keep you on the edge of your seat, leaving you breathless and in need of some water and fresh air after this thrilling journey through a hellish landscape filled with fire and smoke. My Rating: Full Price The Lost Bus Website  In select theaters and now streaming on Apple TV+

Forgotten Film:  Jane  (2017) Jane is a doocumentary about the life and work of primatologist Jane Goodall, who in the 1950s became world famous when, at 26 and untrained, she was sent by Louis Leakey to observe chimpanzees in the jungles of Tanzania. Jane spent five months observing a chimp compound and discovered something that no one had ever known. Chimps used tools. From there, she became a star with specials on TV through the National Geographic Society. The documentary, directed by Brett Morgen, was created from over 140 hours of footage and is an amazing and moving film about a woman who single-handedly changed our understanding and attitudes about chimpanzees in the wild. It is a remarkable story about an even more remarkable woman. The film was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and won two, including Outstanding Directing for a Documentary or Nonfiction Program. RIP: One of my childhood heroes, Jane Goodall  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again The film is available on most streaming platforms.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Smashing Machine:  Personal Groomer to Dwayne Johnson

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Tron: Ares  (2025)   PG-13   Tron: Ares follows a highly sophisticated program named Ares (Jared Leto), who has been sent from the digital world into our real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. The film is the third installment in the Tron series and a sequel to Tron: Legacy (2010). In theaters nationwide, including IMAX, on Friday, October 10, 2025

Until Next Time!