The Bride!

My View:  The Bride!  (2026) R The Bride! is a retelling of the story of the Bride of Frankenstein. In the 1930s, Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) had traveled to Chicago to seek the aid of Dr. Eupronius (Annette Bening) in creating a companion. Together, they revive a murdered woman, creating The Bride (Jessie Buckley), who is far more than expected. This sparks a romance, police attention, and more. It’s very hard to describe what this film is. Is it a horror film? Sort of. A musical? Sort of. A comedy? Sometimes. A romance?Nearly. Hard to follow? Absolutely. It is a film with some outstanding performances by Christian Bale as the love-lorn monster and Jessie Buckley as his intended love interest, but to say this movie is off-the-wall bonkers and all over the place would be putting it mildly. I mean, this film even has an homage to Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. Buckley gives an incredible performance of a young woman who is raised from the dead and has a second person in her brain. That person is Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, credited with creating a story that is the origin of both horror and science fiction. Few actors could master this role, but Buckley mesmerizes, switching smoothly between characters, even within a single line. Bale’s monster is mostly a sidekick to The Bride and is happy to go along for the ride. Writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal went for way over the top with a storyline that just gets weirder as it goes along, with musical numbers, murders, and lots of yelling. It’s a big swing by Gyllenhaal that just never connected for me and, frankly, by the end of the film, gave me a bit of a headache. A little of this film goes a long way, and I wasn’t willing to go that far with it. Still, Bale’s monster in tux and tails, doing a song-and-dance number, will stick with me for a long time. Ultimately, The Bride! left me more exhausted than entertained. There is a mid-credit scene if you can make that far.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Bride! Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Hoppers  (2026)  PG  Hoppers takes place after a group of scientists invent a way to “hop” a human mind into a lifelike robot-animal body. Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda), an animal-loving teen, ‘hops’ into a robotic beaver to thwart a construction company from destroying an animal habitat. Mabel discovers that the animal world is full of surprises, including her unwitting role in an animal uprising. Hoppers is a fun, funny, and delightful return to good filmmaking for Pixar. The storyline is inventive, and the humor works from start to finish. Hoppers message about taking care of the environment is effective without being preachy. The film is fast-moving, and young kids are going to love all the talking animals. The humor makes this film stand out, and while the kids will be laughing at the antics, adults will enjoy all the side quips the characters make. Hoppers keeps the storyline moving as we go on a riotous adventure into the animal world that you won’t soon forget. The film has two post-credits scenes you'll want to stick around for. My Rating: Full Price  Hoppers Website  Now playing in theaters

My View: Protector  (2025)  R  Protector is about Nikki (Milla Jovovich), a decorated ex-soldier who left that life to raise her daughter, Chloe (Isabel Myers). When Chloe is kidnapped, Nikki sets off in a race against time to find her daughter, combing through the seamy criminal underworld. Nikki will stop at nothing to find and destroy the people who threaten her daughter. I have a feeling that they either didn’t have a huge budget or Milla wanted to take a day off, because once the film gets to the kidnapping, we are just told about Nikki’s first attempt to rescue Chloe. Then, later in the big battle sequence, there are a couple of times when we hear gunshots but see nothing other than Nikki coming through the doors where the shots were fired. I think fans of Milla will be disappointed with the action sequences, which mostly feature her shooting people rather than hand-to-hand combat. And Protector has an ending that just feels like the writer wanted a twist at the end and then said screw it, here’s a twist that will mess with you. Instead, it just makes you mad. My Rating: Cable   Protector Website   Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Dolly  (2025)  R  Macy (Fabianne Therese) is out in the woods with her boyfriend when they encounter a monstrous, doll-masked figure, Dolly (Max the Impaler), who takes Macy back to a house of horrors, where Dolly intends to raise Macy as their own child. This gore-fest horror film starts out strong but runs a bit out of steam by the end. The film is shot on 16mm film, which gives it a great 70s horror vibe, with plenty of Texas Chainsaw Massacre homages thrown in, but it lacks the scares to keep our interest in the slender storyline throughout. Fabianne Therese does an admirable job as our heroine, but there’s not enough in this film to make it more than an interesting idea that just doesn’t have enough substance for a full-length film. My Rating: Cable  Dolly Website     Now playing in theaters

Forgotten Film:  Best in Show (2000) PG-13  A behind-the-scenes mockumentary about what goes on in the cut-throat world of competitive dog shows. We follow a group of dog owners who are willing to do anything to ensure that their pampered canines have every chance of winning. Directed by Christopher Guest and co-written by Guest and Eugene Levy (though much of the film features improvised dialogue), the film is a hilarious look at a special group of people who believe their dogs are better than even they are. I picked this film out because, even though it has an all-star cast, the late Catherine O’Hara stands out as Cookie Fleck, the co-owner with her husband, Gerry (Eugene Levy), of their dog, Winky. Cookie, it seems, has slept with everyone at the show with the possible exception of her husband. O’Hara’s performance is a masterclass in how to deliver comedy with such ease and is a delight to watch. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Best in Show Info The film is available on most streaming platforms.

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Bride!: Special wigmaker to The Bride

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: They Will Kill You (2026)  R  A young woman (Zazie Beetz) 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. Zazie has been on a hot streak with her Supporting Actress Emmy nod in the TV series Atlanta, and films like Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, and Joker: Folie a Deux.  They Will Kill You Website The film will be in theaters on Friday, March 17, 2026

Until Next Time!