I See Bad Movies So You Don't Have To!
A weekly look at the movies, both past and present. The name of this blog comes from the fact that I stay until the credits have ended.
Ratings from Best to Worst:
1). I Would Pay to See it Again
2). Full Price
3). Bargain Matinee
4). Cable
5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again
My View: Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) RLee Cronin’s The Mummy is about a young daughter (Natalie Grace) of a journalist who disappears without a trace in the desert. Eight years later, the daughter suddenly appears, but what should be a joyful reunion is quickly shattered by a nightmare that may never end. I liked Cronin’s Evil Dead Rises, calling it ‘one of the better horror / possession films of the past few years.” I can’t say the same thing for a film that I am calling “Evil Dead Rises for Mummies”. And because moms take center stage in this gore fest, you can say mommies, too. The first problem with this film is that it’s incredibly, butt-numbingly long at two hours and thirteen minutes. The second problem is that I didn’t like the parents, who are the most irresponsible pair I have ever seen in a film. They apparently don’t know that their kidnapped daughter, missing for eight years, was found inside a three-thousand-year-old sarcophagus wrapped in ancient wrappings. And while the mom (Lala Costa) is a nurse (I think), they aren’t set up for the 24-hour care that their catatonic, twitchy, old as heck looking daughter, who has a tendency to projectile vomit, spit, and crush hands. Your first clue to their incompetent parenting is dragging the child up what seems like 20 flights of stairs in a wheelchair (which I kept waiting for the child to fall out of). The father (Jack Reynor) was a rising news anchor before the kidnapping, but he misses all the clues that this film hits us over the head with, and takes almost two hours to figure out that something is wrong with his daughter. The film tries to outgross itself at every opportunity, including a toenail-clipping scene that drags on for what seems like ten minutes. I could go on about how stupid this family is, including a grandmother who keeps getting close to the girl, even though every time she does, it seems she gets the crap beaten out of her. Or the Mummy’s two siblings, both of whom, even though the girl is weird as crap, get fooled by the old “cute voice through the door” trick. The tagline for this movie is “Some Things Are Meant To Stay Buried.” I sure wish the script had been one of those things. Well, at least with the director/writer putting his name in the title, we know who to blame for this mess of a film. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again Lee Cronin's The Mummy Website Now playing in theaters
My View: Normal (2025) R In Normal, Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk) has come to the sleepy town of Normal, Minnesota, to become the temporary sheriff after the passing of the long-time sheriff in the town. Not only did the sheriff die under suspicious circumstances, but things get really weird after the local bank is robbed, and Ulysses suspects that the town might be hiding a huge secret. I find it very enjoyable that Bob Odenkirk has gotten into the action-hero game, and this film certainly delivers a lot of action. Odenkirk plays a flawed hero who is just passing through as a caretaker for a few weeks and then moving on to the next town. However, this town isn’t what it seems, and it has some very serious connections (which we see right from the start), and Ulysses is in for a mess of a fight. I had fun with this film for a while, but I had trouble keeping up with who had been killed (the kill rate in this film is incredibly high) and how. I did enjoy how Ulysses finds allies in very unexpected places while the whole town is out to kill him. Then the film kind of became more of the same, and I started wanting it to resolve itself (which it does, unconvincingly). I have a feeling critics will compare this film to Fargo (because of the small-town weirdness) and to John Wick (the nonstop violence), and I will admit that, about halfway through, I kept thinking I had seen this film before. Then I realized Odenkirk had just done the Nobody films. But hey, we have plenty of history with action heroes doing the same version of their films over and over, and we have continued to see them. So go ahead, Bob, and become the next Liam Neeson. I won’t mind. Just don’t become the next Steven Seagal. We don’t have the stomach to go through that again. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Normal Website Now playing in theaters
My View: Lorne (2026) RLorne is a documentary about Lorne Michaels, who created Saturday Night Live in 1975 and is still the driving force behind the legendary late-night comedy show. I have been a fan of SNL since it started. I still remember sitting with my dad watching the first episode back in 1975 (yes, I’m that old), when the first host was George Carlin (his first monologue bombed so bad he asked the audience if they had heard the jokes before). So I was excited to see a documentary about the man who created the show. This is a film that, while I really enjoyed at the time, the more I think about it, the less I like it. Award-winning director Morgan Neville, who brought us the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the delightful Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, tells us right from the start that this is about a man who not only doesn’t enjoy being interviewed, he also doesn’t like being filmed at all. And that’s the problem. It’s about a man whom even his close friends know little about. So we get a film more about how the show is put together, and we get a ton of highlights on how the show has impacted comedy and the nation with its continued look at what is happening in America at any given time. There are a ton of clips from old shows and even more interviews with cast members (most of the interviews seem to be from casts from the last ten years). Looking back at this documentary, my enjoyment came from watching the vast array of comedy gems the show has given us, along with interviews with (surprise) very funny people who know how to tell a story or deliver a quip. I came away with the idea that this man does have an eye for talent, knows what is funny and what works on TV, but I already knew that. The problem is that this is a film about one man, Loren Michaels, not his show or the sketches, and we learn almost nothing about him. Lorne is like going on a blind date and realizing at the end of the evening, while you had a great time, you did all the talking. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Lorne Website Now playing in theaters
My View: #Skyking (2026) #Skyking is a documentary about Richard ‘Beebo’ Russell, a troubled 28-year-old ground service agent with no pilot experience, whose impulsive decision to hijack and pilot a commercial plane shocked a nation. I vaguely remember a pilot taking a plane out for what I thought was a joyride that went wrong. I don’t remember learning that it wasn’t a joyride but a suicide. Director Patricia E. Gillespie does a masterful job of giving us a look at Beebo and why he did what he did. It’s an amazing story that gives us insight into why someone without any piloting experience would do what he did. The film does a brilliant job of letting us get to know both Beebo and his family and friends, and how shocked they were when he did this. Suicide is always a tricky subject, mostly because a lot of times we don’t know why they felt their only choice was to take their own life. We listen to Beebo’s flight recordings as his friends and family also listen in, many for the first time. It’s a gut-wrenching watch to see how many people cared about him and didn’t know the extent of his hurt. #Skyking gives us the reasoning why Beebo felt that maybe his suicide would make an impact and wake up the company he worked for on how they treated their employees. The film is moving, mostly because Beebo seems like a guy you would want to know. It’s horrible that we will never get that chance. My Rating: Full Price #Skyking Info Now playing on the Hulu platform
Forgotten Film: The Omen (1976) R An American ambassador (Gregory Peck) to Britain and his wife (Lee Remick) deal with a series of increasingly deadly ‘accidents’ that always seem to happen around their son Damien (Harvey Spencer Stephens). This 70s film distinguished itself from most horror films of the 60s and 70s by the stylish work of its director, Richard Donner, and its cast, which included Academy Award winner Peck and Oscar-nominated Remick. The film has one of the creepiest performances by a child and some shocking deaths, some of which come out of the blue. Even the ending sets this film apart from the run-of-the-mill horror films that came before. By the way, the horror that Lee Remick shows when the car is attacked by baboons (has to be seen to be believed) was real because they had an actual baboon in the car with her. My Rating: Full Price The Omen Info The film is available to rent on Apple TV+ and Fandango
Weird Credits: From the credits of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy: Hurdy Gurdy
Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) PG-13 Miranda (Meryl Streep) is nearing retirement, and the sharks are circling around. In walks Andy (Anne Hathaway) to help Miranda, and is forced to take on her former assistant turned rival: Emily (Emily Blunt). If anyone can pull off a sequel, it’s Meryl. The Devil Wears Prada 2 Website Coming to theaters nationwide on Friday, May 1, 2026
My View: You, Me & Tuscany (2026) PG-13You, Me & Tuscany follows Anna (Halle Bailey), who finds out that a Tuscan villa is empty all the time, goes to Italy, and is mistaken for the owner’s fiancé, Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor). Anna is about to become tangled in a mess of lies, romance, and a whole lot of trouble. You, Me & Tuscany is a cross between While You Were Sleeping and any Hallmark movie you have seen that doesn’t involve a small American town. Halle Bailey is very cute, and her love interest, Regé-Jean Page, playing Matteo’s brother (sort of), Michael, is very handsome and has a British accent. Like the explanation for why Matteo has a British accent, the rest of the film is built on very flimsy plotlines that ask you not to think about them too much. Now, you get a lot of the Tuscany scenery, but the film was disappointing in its kitchen sequences, where I expected to be dazzled by Anna (who had to quit culinary school when her mother got sick), but got very little flair, and, like the rest of the film, a questionable outcome. I think the other problem was that Page and Bailey didn’t radiate the chemistry we needed to root for them. In fact, there was more chemistry between Anna and her taxi driver/confidant than there was between the two love interests. There are a couple of blooper takes during the credits, where two actresses with minor roles in the film keep yelling out one quip after another. That’s about as much fun as I had through the entire film. My Rating: Cable You, Me & Tuscany Website Now playing in theaters nationwide
My View: Outcome (2026) ROutcome is about Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves), a major Hollywood star, who is about to make his comeback after disappearing for a few years due to “personal problems”, i.e., a drug habit. His life is upended when a mysterious, potentially career-ending video is threatening to be released. To identify the blackmailer, Reef sets out to make amends with everyone he has wronged. It’s a big list. Co-written and directed by Jonah Hill, this is a comedy? Or maybe it’s a satire? I don’t have any idea. All I know is that it is rarely funny, seems much longer than its brief one hour and twenty-three minutes run time, and has an incredibly miscast, notable nice guy in real life, Keanu Reeves, as a Hollywood pretentious asshole who has pissed off everyone throughout his career as the biggest star in Tinseltown. It took me about 30 minutes in to recognize Jonah Hill as Reef’s egomaniacal lawyer, whom Reef always uses to get him out of trouble. Hill’s character spends too much time on camera, mostly because almost everything he says or does isn’t funny. Reeves isn’t asked to do much in the role. In fact, he does a lot of listening to people tell his character what a jerk he was, then asking for forgiveness, or, with his friends, yelling at them for moral support. The supporting cast is huge, with lots of cameos, the best being Marty Scorsese, who plays Reef’s first manager, discovering Reef when he was just a kid. It’s a fun part as Scorsese plays a man whose office is in a personalized booth at a bowling alley. I wish the rest of the cast had put as much heart into their performances as Scorsese did. Even the blackmail video is a letdown, and the film's resolution is as unfulfilling as the rest of the film. My Rating: Cable Outcome Info Now playing on Apple TV+
Indiefest: Exit 8 (2025) PG-13Exit 8 is about a man (Kazunari Ninomiya) who is having a horrible day when he realizes he is trapped in a subway station with an endless maze of hallways. The “Lost Man” will have to solve the puzzle and identify subtle anomalies if he is ever to escape. I understand that this film is based on a video game, but unlike the Mario Brothers film, it doesn’t feel like one. The film has a few horror elements, but for the most part, it builds tension with every hallway turn our hero takes. The “Lost Man” gets stuck in a maze of subway halls that continue in a loop. If the man doesn’t turn back when he sees an anomaly, the exit count goes back down to 0. This is a problem because you are looking for exit 8. This mystery to solve is fascinating and at times frustrating, because just when you think you have figured out how our hero can solve the maze, something new is thrown in his path. This is a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you guessing where it’s going. For anyone who has gotten lost in a mall or a parking garage, this is a movie full of nightmares that keep playing over and over with no end in sight. At least not Exit 8. My Rating: Full Price Exit 8 WebsiteNow playing in select theaters
Indiefest: Hamlet (2025) Hamlet is based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet but set in contemporary London. Haunted by his father’s ghost, Prince Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) leaves elite London society and descends into the city’s underground, seeking to avenge his father’s murder. If you are someone who loves Shakespeare and can quote multiple plays, then this film isn’t for you. This is like reading an abridged novel, where only the highlights show up, and a lot is left on the editor’s desk. We get all the big scenes, but they are all in a modern setting, with the most unusual being the famous ‘To sleep: perchance to dream' speech given while Hamlet is speeding down a highway in a sports car contemplating suicide. For newcomers to Shakespeare, especially in this day of iPhones and YouTube, this is a perfect way to enjoy Hamlet without having to figure out too much of the dialogue. The film is carried by a brilliant, fiery performance by Riz Ahmed, who puts the film on his back and, through his charisma, makes this very stylized film work. The second half of this film is where the movie takes off, and the dance sequence when the King realizes Hamlet knows he was behind Hamlet’s father’s death is a magical moment in the production. This is not your parents’ or grandparents’ play, but a film that is gritty, bloody, violent, and heartbreaking, as Hamlet grapples with grief and his journey into madness and revenge. My Rating: Full Price Hamlet Website Now playing in theaters
My View:Faces of Death (2026) R In Faces of Death, a content moderator, Margot (Barbie Ferreira), is tasked with removing violent content on a website. She discovers a group reenacting murders from the original Faces of Death film. She must determine if the acts are real or staged. Back in the 70s, when every town had a drive-in and Hollywood figured out that there was an audience for cheaply made films that promised a lot of shocking scenes, a very small film called Faces of Death came out, which claimed that it was so shocking, it had been banned in over 40 countries. While yes, some scenes had actual deaths, most involving animals or scenes where it was hard to see exactly what was going on, much of the film was staged, and the deaths were not real. The film was a hit, made a ton of money when VHS tapes hit the scene, and became a staple of many a high school and college overnight party experience. Margot discovers that someone is sending videos to the web content company (think YouTube) that recreates the scenes from the 70s film. The filmmaker uses mannequins to carry out the killing, but Margot is convinced that the person being attacked is really being killed. She breaks her company protocol and finds out who is doing the killing. Little does she know that by doing the sleuthing, she alerts the killer, and the cat-and-mouse chase in on. What makes this film interesting is that Margot has a history of being on YouTube with a horrific accident. So horrible that people recognize her in stores. While not a true horror film, it is horrifying to see how the internet has made us numb to the horrors of the world and how commerce has found a way to profit from showing us those horrors. Faces of Death, for fans of this genre, gives us a lot to think about while also shocking us with a few horrific deaths by a slasher who brings to life what was once fake, and a hero who is flawed but wants to make a difference and is willing to die trying. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Faces of Death Website Now playing in theaters
My View: Beast (2026) RBeast is about MMA legend Patton James (Daniel MacPherson), who is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in trouble. Patton reunites with his old coach, Sammy (Russell Crowe), as he commits to fighting the brutal champion Xavier Grau (Bren Foster). This is a run-of-the-mill Rocky-like film (it even has the wife telling Patton to fight after not wanting him to) that is pretty bland and tells a tale that's been told many times before. Fans of Russell Crowe will be disappointed as, even as the co-writer of the script, his part is purely off to the side and doesn’t even show up for the final fight (his character lets his daughter do the training). The fight sequences are well done, but the film has almost no surprises, and Daniel MacPherson struggles when he has to show any emotion other than yelling his grief. And Sammy and Patton have the stupidest mantra that they chant to fire him up. I kept wondering what the heck they were talking about and why they were getting so excited. The final fight is predictable, and you can see the sequence of events coming from a mile away. MMA fans might get some enjoyment out of this film, but for the rest of us, it’s a bit of a slog to get through. My Rating: Cable Beast WebsiteNow playing in theaters
My View: Thrash (2026) RThrash is about a group of people trapped in a coastal town during a Category 5 hurricane. Not only has the town been cut off from any rescue attempts, but the storm surge is bringing more frightening than rising water and crashing waves: hungry sharks. We all know that Sharknado is stupid fun. Thrash is just stupid. Filled with characters you don’t care about, not even to root for the sharks to eat them, and some terrible special effects, you have a movie that just isn’t fun to watch. Instead of being on the edge of my seat, working if the pregnant woman (why are you in this Phoebe Dynevor?) is going to save her just-born baby with a stick, I was thinking how horrible it must have been to be an actor on this film where you were wet and swimming while dodging furniture. There is one glorious Sharknado moment in the film, and unfortunately, it’s near the end of the movie. I just don’t think you want to sit around watching actors play “The Floor is Lava,” jumping on floating breakfast tables while waiting for a shark to show up. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again Trash Website Now playing on the Netflix platform
Forgotten Film: Cannonball! (1976) This is a perfect example of a 70s drive-in movie. A group of car nuts get in a bunch of exotic cars and go on a race across the country, from L.A. to New York, as cars crash, people get hurt, and cars crash again, all really crashing, sometimes bursting into flames. This was another legendary filmmaker, Roger Corman’s doing, taking the same format and some of the same actors, including David Carradine, from the highly successful Death Race 2000, and this time set in present-day. What makes this film different and worth watching is that not only does the director, Paul Bartel, co-star, but it also features six other directors, including Joe Dante, Roger Corman, and Martin Scorsese. Even Sly Stallone appears uncreated in the film. While not even close to Death Race 2000 or the Ron Howard-starring Eat My Dust, and shouldn't be lumped in with the big budget Hollywood Cannonball Run movies,Cannonball! is a great example of the 70s drive-in movie staple people would go and see on a Saturday night, when not making out or going to the snack bar.My Rating: Cable Cannonball! InfoThe film is available on Amazon and a few other streaming services
Weird Credits: From the credits of You, Me & Tuscany: Crowd Marshall Rome
Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: #Skyking (2026) #Skyking is a documentary about Richard ‘Beebo’ Russell, a troubled 28-year-old ground service agent with no pilot experience, who made an impulsive decision to hijack and pilot a commercial plane, shocking a nation. I remember thinking when I first saw this on the news, how did this happen? Now, we just might find out. #Skyking InfoPremiering on the Hulu platform on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
My View: The Drama (2026) R In The Drama, a happily engaged couple, Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson), are about to get married. However, their relationship is about to be put to the test when an unexpected, shocking, and explosive crisis sends their plans all to hell just days before their wedding. I will not spill what the crisis is, but it is shocking and would test any relationship. This is a film that starts out as a rom-com with a ‘meet cute’, a funny first date, and even a funnier first kiss. Then writer/director Kristoffer Borgli takes us on a trip to a very dark comedy that will make you squirm in your seat and maybe even gasp out loud a few times. You will be on the edge of your seat for every scene as things go further and further down a very rough and rock-filled rabbit hole. I think I even tried to look away at one point, but couldn’t. I loved Zendaya's and especially Robert Pattinson's performances, though you might not like their characters by the end of the film. Pattinson is brilliant in the role of a man whose world is shaken to the core and who puts too much faith in other people’s opinions. And I want to point out that Alana Haim’s performance is outstanding as the Maid of Honor who turns very quickly on Emma and doesn’t let up in her utter contempt. This is a film that you will talk about for days, and if you are like me, you may never want to see The Drama again. Not because it’s bad; in fact, it is amazing. It’s just darn uncomfortable to watch. And please, please don’t take anyone to see this on a first date. If you do, you may never see them again. My Rating: Full Price The Drama WebsiteNow playing in theaters nationwide
Familyfaire: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) PGThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie continues the adventures of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad. The gang is joined by Yoshi as they travel across the galaxy, exploring cosmic worlds as they face off against Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr. I did not like the 2023 film, and I found this one was even worse. My afternoon screening was filled with more adults than kids, which means its audience is full of fans of the games and that this film will make a boatload of money. Like the first film, I think only young kids and those video game fans will enjoy this film. Like the first film, it feels like the writers did one of their usual let’s throw everything up on the screen and hope some of it’s funny, which the Illumination studio is famous for. What I liked about the first film was the interaction between Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Princess Peach (voiced by the Anya Taylor-Joy) but sadly, Peach doesn’t have much to do after the opening sequence as this she is held in Bowser Jr.’s castle, with Mario, Luigi, Toad and new addition Yoshi on a mission to save her. The animation is colorful but unimaginative, and the storyline is one long video game, and once again, we don’t have any controllers to make the film move along. Now, gamers are going to love all the Easter eggs the film has and a few new characters that will delight some of the crowd. I found the film boring, unfunny, and stupid, with little thought given to character development or plot. However, I realize I am not the intended audience, and others may have a good time with the characters. I certainly didn’t. And once again, there are two bonus scenes, one mid-credits and the other at the very end of the film, that may make some gamers happy.My Rating: Cable The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Website Now playing in theaters nationwide
Indiefest: Fantasy Life (2025) RFantasy Life follows Sam (Matthew Shear), a law school dropout who has just lost another job. His psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch) gives him a job babysitting the psychiatrist’s three granddaughters, and Sam soon falls for Dianne (Amanda Peet), the mother of the girls, who just happens to be in a bad marriage. Amanda Peet hasn’t been in a movie in ten years, and boy, have we missed her. Peet is perfect as Dianne, a woman who is dealing with mental health issues, along with an absent husband and a career as an actor that she thinks has forgotten about her. In walks Sam, a mess himself, who has anxiety attacks and needs a job. The two find they can quietly and lovingly support each other as they navigate life's ups and downs. With a brilliant, quirky supporting cast, the film slowly unfolds as we spend time with Sam, Dianne, and her family. Fantasy Life is a film you let wash over you, enjoying the performances that capture everyday life in a chaotic world that sometimes gets the best of us. My Rating: Full Price Fantasy Life Website Now playing in select theaters
My View: Pizza Movie (2026) Pizza Movie is about two college roommates, Jack (Gaten Matarazzo) and Montgomery (Sean Giambrone), who take an experimental drug called M.I.N.T.S and must go on a dangerous journey to pick up the only thing that will bring them down: a pizza. That dangerous journey? They have to travel two flights of stairs to their dorm lobby. Pizza Movie is a film where you question what drugs filmmakers Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney were taking when writing the script. The film is out of this world nuts, with some incredibly funny situations and others that are just out and out stupid and don’t work. However, the film never stays too long on one aspect and keeps throwing obstacles the guys have to overcome to get to that pizza. The great thing about this film is that it just keeps trying to outdo the last scene, and it does many times. Matarazzo and Giambrone have incredible chemistry on the screen and make this film work, along with the addition of Lulu Wilson as someone who fits better with the two roommates than the group she is trying too hard to fit into. And hey, any film where Daniel Radcliffe voices a rogue butterfly is a movie you just might have fun with. Just don’t take a mint if it’s offered to you while watching this film. It would be a mistake. Unless you have pizza nearby! My Rating: Bargain Matinee Pizza Movie Website Now playing on the Hulu platform
Forgotten Film: Monsoon Wedding (2001) R The Verma family of Delhi is coming from far and wide to see Aditi (Vasundhara Das) marry Hemant (Parvin Dabas), a computer programmer from Houston. Hemant is considered somewhat of an outsider, but in this arranged marriage, that’s not the only problem with this wedding. This is a fun and delightful movie where secrets are to be kept, romances blossom, and a wedding might just fall off its wheels before the couple can say their vows.My Rating: Full Price Monsoon Wedding Info
Weird Credits: From the credits of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: Head of Render Wranglers
Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Sheep Detectives (2026) PG Every night, a sheepherder (Hugh Jackman) reads a mystery novel to his herd before they bed down for the night. When one morning they find he is dead, the sheep realize that his death is under mysterious circumstances, and they set out to solve the crime. This is truly one of the weirdest trailers I have seen in a theater. The voice cast is outstanding, so let’s wait and see what happens.The Sheep Detectives WebsiteThe film will be out in theaters on Friday, May 8, 2026.
My View:They Will Kill You(2026)RThey Will Kill You follows a young woman (Zazie Beetz) who takes a job as a housekeeper at a NYC high-rise that has a history of mysterious disappearances. She soon realizes that the high-rise is a deathtrap, and she is its latest victim. They have no idea who they hired, but the high-rise is about to find out. Anyone who has seen the trailer for this film knows it's going to be a wild ride. I just didn’t know how wild a ride it is. The first fight sequence has an incredibly shocking conclusion that I won’t reveal, but just say that this film is absolutely a nutty, off-the-wall, throw-everything-at-us-it-can kind of film. Zazie Beetz does an amazing job of being a tough, kill them with anything type of warrior while also being able to handle some of the film’s comedic moments (which had me laughing quite a bit at the wondrousness of it all). The fight sequence where Zazie’s character takes on the bad guys in a darkened room with a fireman’s axe that she has set ablaze (why not?) is thrilling and well done. This is a bloody mess of a film that takes a while to reveal its full plot, but it's such a fun ride that I just wanted to see how Beetz’s character was going to get out of this maze of hell. It’s one bloody ride into crazy town, and I loved it.My Rating: Full PriceThey Will Kill You WebsiteNow playing in theaters
My View:Forbidden Fruits(2026)RIn Forbidden Fruits, Apple (Lili Reinhart) runs an after-hours “femme witchy cult” within a ritzy mall store called Free Eden. Her followers include Cherry (Victoria Pedretti) and Fig (Alexandra Shipp), and they are soon joined by a fellow mall employee, Pumpkin (Lola Tung). Pumpkin will eventually challenge Apple’s reign, and unlike their outfits, it will not be pretty. Forbidden Fruits is a film that wants to become a cult classic (think of some witch movies of the past 30 years), but never reaches the level of comedy or satire that could elevate it to that stature. The film always seems to be just on the edge, but rarely delivers a scene, trying too hard to make a point. Forbidden Fruits takes a long time to set up the confrontation and then goes into a really convoluted storyline that comes out of nowhere. The cast tries hard to make the film work, but they aren’t given enough material to keep us interested. Do stay through the first portion of the credits, as there is a bonus scene that explains a little bit of the missing plot. Just not enough to make it work. My Rating: Cable Forbidden Fruits Website Now playing in theaters
Indiefest: A Magnificent Life(2025) PG-13 A Magnificent Life is about the famous French filmmaker, playwright, and novelist Marcel Pagnol, who, in this animated film, sits down to write his memoirs. He is visited by his younger self, who guides him to tell his story of his years in cinema, along with the ups and downs of his personal life. This is a loving look at a filmmaker who had a great impact on French filmmaking. The animation is lovely to look at, with colors that are inspired by paintings and Pagnol's own movies. However, the film is incredibly slow and spends most of its time trying to cover the vast body of Pagnol's work, which makes it feel a little shallow. Instead, we get an almost newsreel feel to a life that was filled with too much product to be shown in such little time.My Rating: Bargain Matinee A Magnificent Life Website Now playing in select theaters
My View:Pretty Lethal(2026)R Pretty Lethal is about five ballerinas on their way to a dance competition whose bus has broken down, and they have taken refuge in a remote inn. A group of armed men shows up, and the women will have to use their rigorous training and dance skills to transform their art into a weapon. This is another in a long list of films that would play well with crowds at a midnight horror film festival, but doesn’t have the staying power to make it in the feature film world. It’s a film with a great premise, but it runs out of steam soon after the first fight, when the ballerinas realize they can use their dance moves to kill and maim the bad guys. Uma Thurman hams it up with a horrible accent as the ballerina turned mobster who runs the hotel and wants to expand her reach or get revenge (I never quite figured that part out). The action sequences are fun at first and then become increasingly silly, but not in a fun way. I became bored with the plot about halfway through. I had high hopes for this film with the cast of Iris Apatow, Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds playing the ballerinas, but they were given a script that could have been a fun short, but not a feature film.My Rating: Cable Pretty Lethal WebsiteNow playing on the Amazon Prime platform
My View: Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice(2026) R In Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, Nick (Vince Vaughn), a mobster, must use a time machine to travel back in time to save his friend, Mike (James Marsden), from being murdered. To complicate matters, Nick has just found out that Mike has been having an affair with Nick’s wife (Eiza González). What’s worse than one Vince Vaughn doing his usual too cool for you persona? How about two Vince Vaughns in this mess of a time travel/mobster film that thinks really bad jokes are always funny if you keep telling them. This film goes on and on, seemingly with no end in sight. And it doesn’t know when to quit (there are even horrible added scenes during the credits that continue the trend of not being funny). It’s sad when the only thing I liked in the movie is a cat with an attitude. My Rating: Cable Mike & Nick & NIck & Alice WebsiteNow playing on the Hulu platform
Indiefest:The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist(2026)PG-13The documentary The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is told through the perspective of filmmaker Daniel Roher. Daniel is about to become a father and is worried about the existential threats posed by artificial intelligence. So he goes and talks to the experts in the AI world, including the CEOs of companies trying to capitalize on the technology. This is such an interesting film, part horror, part comedy, and full of information you will still be sorting out long after leaving the theater. Roher is hilarious as the filmmaker trying to figure out AI, using incredible stock clips, animation, and even conversations with his wife to be the everyman wanting to know what AI is and whether it can be the end of civilization as we know it. The film is told in parts, with the first part interviewing a wide range of experts who have come to the conclusion that we are all doomed by AI. Roher follows that with talking with experts who believe AI will save us and make the world better. And then that is followed by experts who say it will be a little of both. This is a fascinating film about an incredibly complex subject, but Roher presents the interviews and ideas with a flair for keeping the story interesting and captivating. I loved the ending, which I won’t ruin, but let’s say both he and his wife have ideas on the subject. Is it going to stop you from asking AI about how to make your garden gopher-proof? Probably not, but it will make you think and just might get you to investigate this subject further or even call someone in Congress. My Rating: Full Price The AI Doc Website Now playing in theaters
Indiefest: Marc by Sofia (2025) PG-13Marc by Sofia is a documentary that gives an intimate, unconventional portrait of the iconic American designer Marc Jacobs. It's a documentary that only Marc Jacobs fans will love. While it is fun to watch how much work and detail go into staging a fashion show that lasts only minutes, that's about all I learned about the subject. I found out almost nothing about Jacobs in this documentary, other than that he makes some really weird clothes, has worked with and for some famous people, Sofia Coppola has known Jacobs for a long time, and Jacobs is obsessed with details. The documentary feels more like a Vogue or Vanity Fair pictorial: lots of glamour and fluff, but very little detail about the man himself. Marc by Sofia is Coppola's first attempt at a documentary, and I will say this: she appears in the film almost as much as the subject himself. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Marc by Sofia Website Now playing in select theaters
Indiefest: Alpha (2025) RAlpha is about a troubled 13-year-old girl (Melissa Boros), who defies her single mom (Golshifteh Farahani) and gets a tattoo. Their world collapses when she learns that she may have contracted a lethal, blood-borne disease from getting the tattoo. The movie is from filmmaker Julia Ducournau, known for her award-winning films Titane (2021) and Raw (2016); both were a little too strange for my taste. This is a much easier film to watch, though it moves back and forth in time between when Alpha is currently 13 and when she was 5. Alpha is a headstrong young girl, flirting with sleeping with a boy (who has a girlfriend), and isn’t afraid to smoke and drink. She does suffer from panic attacks, which are incredibly scary. We see the effects of the first panic attack early in the film, when she attempts to leave her room via her window and has an attack that makes her think the balcony is going to blow away due to incredibly strong winds. While the film doesn’t name HIV/AIDS as the virus, it uses a stand-in where, when people are infected, they slowly become solid like rocks. Alpha is thought of by the school and her fellow students as a pariah, as a person who could have the virus, and Alpha is constantly dealing with being shunned or threatened. To make things worse for Alpha, she is forced to share her room with her mother’s brother, a man who has shown up to get clean from heroin. While I enjoyed Melissa Boros’s performance, I had a hard time keeping up with the storyline, which kept jumping back and forth in time, and I did not enjoy the ending, which left more questions than answers. I also did not like the way the mother, a doctor, treated her only daughter, who might have the virus, including having her share a room with an addict. I think the storyline would have worked better if the film had stayed in the real world rather than wandering so much into fantasy.My Rating: Bargain Matinee Alpha Website Now playing in select theaters
Forgotten Film:Purple Violets(2007) RThis is the story of two couples at a crossroads who encounter their college sweethearts. The couples that are destined to be together are writer Brian (Patrick Wilson) and a failed writer turned realtor, Patti (Selma Blair), and lawyer Michael (Ed Burns) and teacher Kate (Debra Messing). All are in relationships, but their attraction to each other is what makes this film work. Written and directed by Ed Burns, this is a fun and funny romance about lost love and having to decide if your life has turned out the way you wanted it. Blair and Wilson are the couple you root for from their ‘meet cute’ and make this little-seen film worth watching. My Rating: Full Price Purple Violents InfoThe film is available on most streaming platforms
Weird Credits: From the credits of Forbidden Fruits:Movie Animals Protected Representative
Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:Fantasy Life (2025) RFantasy Life follows Sam (Matthew Shear), a law school dropout who has just lost another job. His psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch) gives him a job babysitting the psychiatrist’s three granddaughters, and Sam soon falls for Dianne (Amanda Peet), the mother of the girls, who just happens to be in a bad marriage. This is Amanda Peet's first feature film since 2015's Sleeping with Other People.Fantasy Life WebsiteIn theaters on Friday, April 3, 2026
My View: Project Hail Mary(2026)PG-13 In Project Hail Mary, science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no idea who he is or how he got there. He soon figures out that his mission is to somehow stop a mysterious substance from killing the sun. Ryland is not alone up there and discovers unexpected help from an alien. There are some films that you enjoy from beginning to end, and this is one of them. You are going to fall in love with the alien that Ryland names Rocky. Project Hail Mary is such a wonderful film, from brilliant and jaw-dropping effects to a storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat while simultaneously laughing, that it is a wonder to behold. Gosling is perfect in the role of an everyman who isn’t trained to be an astronaut, much less a hero, but who is smart and willing to meet an alien life form not only halfway but become that life form's friend. While the running length may seem daunting at over two and a half hours, you never feel its length, as the story keeps you interested, excited, and joyful. There are some amazing space sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat, but the heart of this film is the friendship and trust that develops between Ryland and Rocky, as they try to save their worlds while feeling the weight of not wanting to fail. Project Hail Mary is a film full of wonder, humor, and suspense, and one you just might go see again. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again Project Hail Mary WebsiteNow playing in theaters nationwide
My View:Ready or Not 2: Here I Come(2026)RReady or Not 2: Here I Come begins after surviving the game where the family Grace (Samara Weaving) was marrying into tried to kill her. She has now been kidnapped by four rival families, vying for a throne by killing her. To raise the stakes, Grace’s sister (Kathryn Newton) is now her partner in the new game. I loved the first film, Ready or Not, which I said was a perfect example of the definition of a ‘dark comedy,’ a film that makes light of a subject that is generally considered taboo, and I loved the gutty and fiery performance of Samara Weaving. While I enjoyed this film, as you would expect from a sequel, it doesn’t quite deliver the thrills of the original. Kathryn Newton’s addition to the cast as the estranged sister of Grace, who has a chip on her shoulder for being abandoned by Grace when she was 15, is a boon, as their interplay throughout is a lot of fun. There are still some fun kills, and yes, people do still blow up, getting blood everywhere (kind of a running gag in this one). I did enjoy the new characters, including the twins, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy, who have a very strange relationship. I will say that I was thrilled with the ending, so if you liked or loved the first film, go on another escape the nutty family with Grace, and this time you have her sister to help deal with all the blood. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Ready or Not 2 WebsiteNow playing in theaters
Indiefest:Tow(2025)RTow is about Amanda Ogle (Rose Byrne), a homeless woman in Seattle who has been living in her car for the past few years. Her world comes crashing down when her car is stolen and is found in a tow company's holding yard. To get her stolen car back, she will have to sue the company after receiving a bill that she can never afford to pay. Rose Byrne and a stellar supporting cast, including Demi Lovato, Dominic Sessa, Octavia Spencer, Ariana DeBose, Simon Rex, and Elsie Fisher, try to overcome both a script that tends to wander and a direction that never can find a place to concentrate on. We get a cast of characters that don’t help the storyline and are asked to say lines like, “No porn on the Lord’s Wi-Fi.” We get a lot of scenes of phone calls and texts between Amanda and her daughter, Avery (Elsie Fisher), that amount to a lot of feeling guilty and Avery feeling abandoned, all of which could be shown in one or two conversations, instead of every five to ten minutes. The final courtroom scene falls flat, making Amanda’s victory feel hollow and powerless. It’s a long way to go on a journey that never really gets started. My Rating: Cable Tow WebsiteNow playing in theaters
Indiefest:André Is an Idiot(2025)André Is an Idiot is a documentary about a self-proclaimed ‘idiot’, André Ricciardi, who learns that, after skipping the colonoscopy that could have saved him, he is dying of colon cancer. He decides to go out with how he has always lived his life: with irreverence, humor, and curiosity. I really enjoyed this documentary, but man, I am glad that I never knew the guy because he would have driven me crazy. To say that André’s view of the world is a little off-kilter would be an understatement. However, if you are going on a journey with a man who is going to die of cancer, you might as well go on that journey with a guy who sees the world as his playground, and we are all just there for him to mock. There is a ton of animated scenes that illustrate Andre's kooky ideas, including a game show where contestants vie to kill him. André fights as long as he can and does it on his terms, and no one else is going to change his mind.My Rating: Full Price Andre is an Idiot WebsiteNow playing in select theaters
Forgotten Film: Cold Souls(2009) PG-13Paul (Paul Giamatti) is an actor preparing for his Broadway role in “Uncle Vanya”. However, Paul isn’t feeling it, and he learns that there is a doctor who can put his soul in storage, giving him a new outlook. When losing his soul doesn’t work, he asks for someone else’s and is given a new one, one of a Russian poet. It improves his performance but ruins everything else in his life, and he is desperate to get his old soul back. This is a very strange comedy that is worth seeing because of Paul Giamatti, who is brilliant in this strange, deadpan comedy that wonders if you really need a soul. My Rating; Full Price Cold Souls InfoThe film is available on Amazon Prime
Weird Credits:From the credits of Project Hail Mary:Royal Navy Logistics
Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice(2026) RIn Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, Nick (Vince Vaughn), a mobster, must use a time machine to travel back in time to save his friend, Mike (James Marsden), from being murdered. To complicate matters, Nick has just found out that Mike has been having an affair with Nick’s wife (Eiza González). I love the tagline of the film, “A time-traveling, double-crossing, ass-kicking comedy.” Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice WebsitePremiering on Hulu on Friday, March 27, 2026.
