F1: The Movie

My View:  F1: The Movie  (2025)  PG-13   In F1: The Movie, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is a retired driver who thought he had burned too many bridges to ever return to F1 racing. An owner (Javier Bardem) wants to make a splash in the racing world and brings in Sonny to team with a new hot shot driver, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). F1: The Movie is a big Hollywood film with a huge, bankable Hollywood star that is about one of the world’s most popular sports and was done not only with the full cooperation of the sports governing body but with the world’s most famous driver (and many time world champion) Lewis Hamilton, as a producer. See this film in the theater, with as big a screen as you can, because the racing scenes are some of the most thrilling auto-racing sequences that have ever been filmed. F1 excels at putting you in the cars with the drivers while they race on tracks around the world. With the full cooperation of F1, the filmmakers were able to shoot some of the film on the actual race circuits, which makes this film feel even more real and thrilling. Pitt is everything you want in a big, charismatic star who makes you believe he isn’t over 60 and that he is one of the great race car drivers in the world. It’s a role that few stars out there could do, and Pitt does it with a flare that makes you believe he could go into F1 and be successful in only a few races. So, those are the pluses of this film: thrilling racing scenes and a star who knows how to be a star. Unfortunately, the power of the film's racing scenes is lost when the storyline gets in the way of making it work. F1: The Movie is a film that runs over two and a half hours, and too much of the film is spent setting up storylines that either don’t work or we don’t care about. I loved the relationship and chemistry between Sonny Hayes, the off-putting over-confident race car driver, and Kate McKenna, the team’s chief engineer (played by the always wonderful Kerry Condon). Sonny asks Kate to create a car that handles differently than most F1 cars, and reluctantly, she buys into what he’s selling. There is some great chemistry between Condon and Pitt, but I kept hoping that the romantic aspect would be put on the back burner and let this working dynamic unfold without the need for them to get together. There are plenty of problems with the plot, including how Sonny plays bumper cars without a serious crash or penalty, a poorly done feud between hot shot driver Joshua and Sonny, and a play for control of the racing team that you see coming from almost the start of the film, that doesn’t resolve itself until the very end. Still, you will have a great time watching a superstar actor in a role that he was made for and racing sequences that are incredibly well done and thrilling. Maybe take a bathroom break or refill that popcorn when the talking starts. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  F1: The Movie Website       Now playing in theaters nationwide, including IMAX. 

My View:  M3GAN 2.0  (2025)  PG-13   M3GAN 2.0 takes place two years after roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) created M3GAN, a robot meant to be a companion to Cady (Violet McGraw), a robot that turned into a killing machine. A new military-grade robot, AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), has been built using M3GAN’s technology and has become self-aware, turning against its creators. It is now attempting an AI takeover and sees Gemma and Cady as targets. Not if the new and improved M3GAN 2.0(Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis)  has anything to say about it. Back in 2023, I gave M3GAN, the first film in the series, a terrific review, stating, “Full of humor and some cool special effects, we have a horror star who makes Chucky look like an amateur.” Unfortunately, this time around, instead of returning to the horror/humor style that worked so well, they decided to make M3GAN the next action hero, and it doesn’t work. Instead of horror, we get a robot that is out to take over the world, and our team of robot scientists, including Cady (who in two years has somehow become a world-class Aikido fighter), go into a secret lair bunker, straight out of James Bond movie, to build a new M3GAN. You can almost hear the words being said: “We can make her better than she was. Better, stronger, faster.” While the first film had a lot to say about the state of parenting, this film is all about the evils of AI taking over our lives. The plot is razor thin, and the humor is forced, though there is a magnificent scene where M3GAN serenades her creator Gemma with a rendition of the Kate Bush song ‘This Woman’s Work.’ And yes, M3GAN dances, but it doesn’t have the quirky feel of the original film. And that’s the key issue: this two-hour film is simply not fun. Instead, it’s as if director Gerard Johnstone watched too many of those Cannon films of the 80s as a kid and decided it was time to bring them back. Instead, can we please have M3GAN return be creepy and scary? We already have enough superhero movies. My Rating: Bargain Matinee M3GAN 2.0 Website Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  My Mom Jayne (2025)   TV-MA   My Mom Jane is a documentary by Mariska Hargitay, who was only three years old when her mother, Jayne Mansfield, died in a horrible car accident. Mansfield, at the time, was one of the most famous people in the world due to her films and the constant publicity she generated about her life and appearance. This is a film about the personal journey of a woman who didn’t know or remember her mother but whose shadow always followed her. My Mom Jayne is a captivating exploration of discovery, as Hargitay delves into her mother’s life—including her early marriage and pregnancy, her pursuit of a career driven by sheer determination, and her experiences with multiple marriages while raising four children.  We see as Mariska discovers things about her mother that were buried in the past and how, when they come to light, Hargitay gains a better understanding of her mother, including all the trials and tribulations that her brief but prolific life entailed. Mariska keeps peeling back the layers and discovering more about a mother she thought she knew, but she finds there is so much more. Hargitay does a marvelous job of showing us never-before-seen photos and home movies, along with a ton of Mansfield’s TV talk show appearances, that make you feel you are right there along with Hargitay. My Mom Jayne, is an emotional film that keeps surprising you as mysteries are solved, some of which are jaw-dropping revelations. By the end of the movie, you gain a deeper understanding of how misunderstood Mansfield was and how loving a mother she could have been to Mariska if her life hadn’t been cut short. It’s a poignant journey of pain, loss, and love—one that you won’t soon forget. My Rating: Full Price My Mom Jayne Website  Now playing on the HBO Max platform.  

Indiefest:  Tatami  (2023)  Leila (Arienne Mandi), a judo champion in her native Iran, and her coach, Maryam (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), have traveled to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home her country’s first gold medal. Midway through the competition, Leila receives an order from the Islamic Republic to fake an injury and withdraw. Will Leila do as she is told or continue competing, putting herself and her family in danger? Part sports movie and part thriller, with political intrigue thrown in, Tatami is a compelling watch that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Arienne Mandi gives a powerful performance as a woman who is willing to risk everything to achieve her dreams. Shot in black and white, the film follows Leila and her coach as she competes, and she feels that this is her day, that this is her tournament, and nothing can stop her. However, politics and a regime that prioritizes making a statement over sportsmanship threaten to derail her aspirations.Tatami is an emotionally charged and tense film where strength and courage are not just demonstrated on the mat, but also behind the scenes. It's an emotional rollercoaster, enthralling and complex, that will take you on a journey of unexpected emotions and places. It is a film that, like Leila, keeps fighting the good fight until the end.  My Rating: Full Price  Tatami Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Indiefest: Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore (2025)  The documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore focuses on actress and activist Marlee Matlin, who won an Academy Award at the age of 21 for her performance in the film Children of a Lesser God (1986). Marlee has not only been a trailblazer for deaf actors but also a dedicated advocate for increased inclusion and accessibility within the Deaf community. I have been a fan of Marlee Matlin since seeing her heartbreaking and powerful performance in the 1986 film Children of a Lesser God, from which she won an Academy Award. That film propelled her overnight into three things she was not prepared for: becoming a spokesperson for every deaf person on the planet, an acting career based on one role in an industry that had never even considered that deaf people could be star material, and being in a relationship with a man who physically took out his insecurities on someone who loved him. Not Alone Anymore is a profile of a woman who never let people/critics define her by her hearing impairment. It’s a fascinating look at a woman who broke ground with every role she took on. Everyone who has used captioning when watching TV shows or movies should bow down to Matlin, as she was an almost a one-woman crusader for closed captioning. The film allows Matlin to tell her own story, and what a story it is. We discover the origins of her relationship with William Hurt and how it turned into a terrible, physically abusive one. Matlin tackles her drug addiction head-on with us and goes into detail about how she was treated by the press and by the deaf community. What I loved about this film was how it used closed captioning, allowing the hearing-impaired to express themselves without having to wait for an interpreter to catch up to what they were saying. It also shows how hard Matlin had to fight to have a career and how many times she had to hold her ground or fight for a role when studios would rather hire a hearing actor instead of someone with a hearing impairment. I loved the moment in the film when Marlee is with her brothers and sister, and Marlee, even with a family that is used to dealing with a deaf person, is left out of conversations because they aren’t talking to her or where she can see them. At one point, she signs to the camera, “I’m bored.” Watching this film about this amazing activist and actor, you will never make that statement. The film ends with two scenes. One is Matlin enjoying time with her newborn grand-baby, talking to the baby using ASL. And as credits roll, we watch Marlee in a car, signing along with a Billy Joel song as she waits at a red light. I can’t wait to see what Matlin does in her next role because I know it will be like her: powerful, tough, and thoughtful.   My Rating: Full Price  Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore Website  Now playing in select theaters.  

Forgotten Film:  Before Night Falls (2000) R   Before Night Falls is the story of Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem), the Cuban novelist and poet who believed that Fidel Castro’s revolution would liberate his life. Instead, he was targeted for his homosexuality and imprisoned for years, where he continued to write. We follow Arenas through his life as he continues to write, as his life becomes harder and harder. Javier Bardem delivers a riveting and touching performance as a man who is repeatedly put down but refuses to be anything but himself. It's a master class in acting, and because of it, Javier Bardem received an Academy Award nomination for his performance. Of note is that Johnny Depp has a dual role in the film, one as a military officer who takes advantage of Reinaldo’s incarceration and as “Bon Bon’, a fellow inmate who is a crossdresser who helps Reinaldo smuggle out his writings.    My Rating: Full Price  Before Night Falls Info  Available to rent/buy on Amazon

Weird Credits:  From the credits of F1: The Movie:  Bolero Technician

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) PG-13  Forced to balance the life of a family with being superheroes, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from an evil space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his Herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). The Fantastic Four comprises Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). The Fantastic Four: First Steps Website  The film opens nationwide on Friday, July 25, 2025.  

Until Next Time!

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

My View:  Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning  (2025)  PG-13  In Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), an IMF agent and leader of a team of operatives, is on the hunt for Gabriel (Esai Morales), a rogue operative who’s after control of a powerful AI entity that can destabilize the globe. Ethan’s strength has always been his loyalty to his team. This time, it may be his downfall. I am a fan of the Mission Impossible franchise (with the exception of the first film, which I have problems with), and it’s always fun to see what incredible and dangerous stunts Tom has decided he can survive. This may be the final installment of Ethan Hunt’s missions (though, like soap operas, no one is ever truly dead or retires in the MI world), and that’s a blessing and a curse. The film is too long (pack a lunch because the running time is 2 hours and forty-nine minutes), has way too much exposition for its own good, and has a diving sequence that seems to take 30 minutes. Plus, the film’s bad guy is probably the weakest of the film’s series. The film has plenty of callbacks from previous films, especially the last film, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One since it’s only been a couple of months in the timeline since the end of Part One. Having said all that, I had fun with this film with all the stunts and the fact that, once again, the film’s core is that it's not Ethan’s mission but his team’s mission. Watching Simon Pegg portray the stressed Benji is always enjoyable, and the chemistry between Hayley Atwell and Cruise is fantastic. In fact, if they want to keep doing MI's and Mr. Cruise decides to hang it up, I wouldn’t mind going on a mission for two with Grace’s Hayley Atwell. The last twenty minutes of this film are worth the price of admission alone as Cruise does his best to die climbing on and over not one but two bi-planes (Howard Hughes would be so proud). It’s a feat of thrilling stunt work that has you on the edge of your seat. You can’t deny that Tom Cruise is one of the best action heroes we have ever had (possibly the best), and this film is an excellent testament to that fact. So grab a big tub of popcorn, go light with the drinks, and watch a man do everything he can to entertain you.  My Rating: Full Price  Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

Familyfaire: Lilo & Stitch  (2025) PG   Lilo & Stitch is about Lilo (Mala Kealoha), a rebellious six-year-old orphan who has recently lost her parents and is being raised by her older sister, Nani (Sydney Elizabeth Augdong). Lilo finds and befriends a strange-looking ‘dog,’ who she names Stitch. What Lilo doesn’t know is that ‘Stitch’ is a genetically engineered extraterrestrial creature designed to cause chaos and destruction and is being hunted by the alien United Galactic Federation. Disney hasn’t had the greatest success with live-action remakes of their animated films. Remember Aladdin with Will Smith (shudder) or the Tom Hanks’ dreadful Pinocchio? I am happy to say that the newest adaptation, while not quite up to the standards of the original animated film, is still a good film that, while there are a few changes made to the plot, captures the spirit and the fun times of the original. A lot of the credit goes to the two leads in Maia Kealoha as the spirited and independent little girl Lilo and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong as the sister Nani, who is in way over her head trying to raise Lilo and keep social services from taking Lilo away. In crashes Stitch (voiced again by Chris Sanders), who we all love as the rascally alien who loves to create mayhem and mischief. What I like about this film is while the beginning is all CGI aliens, once we get to Hawaii, other than Stitch, everything else is pretty much live-action, including the two aliens assigned to bring Stitch back, Jumba, the mad scientist (Zach Galifianakis) and Pleakley, the ‘Earth expert” (Billy Magnussen, for the most part are in human form, which helps with keep the film based in the human world. The film works because of Maia Kealoha, who is such a force of good-hearted nature on screen that she makes us believe Stitch is real and right there by her side. Kealoha is a joy to watch on screen, making you root for this weird little family that battles the odds to try to stay together. The film does a fantastic job of keeping the message of the animated film alive. I loved how much the Hawaiian traditions are incorporated into the film, and how the themes of love and belonging form the basis of the film's message. Lilo & Stitch is a heartwarming and touching film with some great laughs and performances by the two leads that make this film work as well as it does. So put on a grass skirt and get ready to do a hula or two. Just duck when Stitch gets that soda gun.      My Rating: Full Price Lilo & Stitch Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View: Fear Street: Prom Queen  (2025)  R   Set in 1988, Fear Street: Prom Queen takes place as students at Shadyside prepare for the prom, and the ‘it’ girls are fighting to get support to be voted Prom Queen. An unusual candidate, Lori Granger (India Fowler), joins the race. Suddenly, some candidates go missing one by one, and Lori could be next. I enjoyed the Fear Street trilogy that came out back in 2021, including the excellent Fear Street Part One: 1994, which did a great job of making us care about the characters and had plenty of twists and turns to make the horror film fun. I'm disappointed that I can't say the same about this Fear Street movie, which starts out as interesting but then turns into an unimaginative and tedious killing spree. Lori is an outsider whose mother murdered her father when they were both in high school. Lori's best friend is Megan (Suzanna Son), who is a fan of horror films and gives off the vibe that she might be in love with Lori. The killings are run-of-the-mill slasher-style film killings, full of blood and minimal scares. The film gives us some significant clues that make it very easy to figure out who the killer is, and the ending is one big mess with the reason why the killings are going on, which is incredibly stupid and poorly done. Skip this mess of a film and go back to 1994 for a better time.   My Rating: Cable  Fear Street: Prom Queen Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Indiefest:  Jane Austen Wrecked My Life  (2024)  R   In Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, Agathe (Camille Rutherford) is a Jane Austen fanatic who works at the world-famous Paris bookstore Shakespeare & Co. Agathe is lonely and unlucky in love, always complaining about her lack of love life. When Agathe suddenly receives a Jane Austen writing residency, she meets the son of the husband and wife who run the residency (Charlie Anson) and now must choose between a writing career or her love life. I am a big fan of the Jane Austen film adaptations (I just saw the 20th anniversary showing in theaters of the 2005 Pride & Prejudice), so I was looking forward to this film and was not disappointed. Agathe is a woman with a troubled past and hopes to be a writer like Jane Austen, but she lacks the self-assurance to act on it. Her best friend, Felix (Pablo Pauly), sends a chapter that she has written, and Agathe gets an invitation to a writing residency to work on her book. However, it's not just any residency; it's named after her favorite writer, Jane Austen. Agathe feels she is living in the wrong time period, feeling she would have everything she desired in the world that Jane Austen profiled in her books. Taking a big leap, she goes to the residency, and there she meets a distant nephew of Jane Austen, Oliver (Charlie Anson). Oliver doesn’t make a great first or even second impression, as he seems rather snobbish, standoffish and thinks Austen is overrated. Anson has that English wit and style where he can be charming and a jerk at the same time. As with Jane’s work, we know Oliver is the man that Agathe will fall in love with, and of course, like in an Austen novel, there will be obstacles to overcome, tears will be shed, and our heroine will have doubts about her work and her love life. Camille Rutherford is perfect as a headstrong but constantly messing up Agathe. Rutherford is adept at both the romantic side of Agathe but also shows a flair for comedy, as Agathe seems to always making a fool of herself just as Oliver shows up. It’s a role that Rutherford excels in, making us like Agathe and root for her even when Agathe doubts herself and her writing, we feel she can overcome anything to succeed. And on the way, much like Jane Austin's stories, maybe Agathe can find love in an unexpected place with a man who resembles a bit of Mr. Darcy.   My Rating: Full Price  Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Website   Now playing in selected theaters. 

Indiefest: Sister Midnight  (2024)   Sister Midnight tells the story of Uma (Radhika Apte), who is a newlywed in an arranged marriage to Gopal (Ashok Pathak), a husband who ignores her, even in bed. Uma, frustrated at being a housewife and disillusioned with her life, begins exploring the world at night, which will land her in unlikely situations. Uma is not the typical Indian bride that we are used to seeing in Bollywood musicals. She is foul-mouthed, doesn’t have a clue how to cook (even rice), and is not happy with either her husband (who mostly ignores her) or where she is living (trash is everywhere in this Mumbai slum). She is miserable, and to show her independence, she gets a cleaning job at night. Uma explores the nighttime and soon discovers that she might differ from most housewives. She might be a vampire. Sister Midnight is a film that, almost from the beginning, takes tons of hilarious twists that you're not expecting. It’s not a film where you are always going to know what is going on, but you will have fun watching where it goes and how Uma, played by the magical Radhika Apte, adapts to her new way of life. It was a delight to watch, never knowing what was going to happen next but always knowing that Uma was going to react with a cuss word or two and keep going as her world gets weirder and weirder, and we are right there along with her, waiting to see what the heck is going to happen next.  My Rating: Full Price  Sister Midnight Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

My View:  Fountain of Youth  (2025) PG-13  A treasure-hunting mastermind, Luke (John Krasinski), who has stolen art and other artifacts for a living, is about to go on a quest to find what could be the secret to immortality. He will need all his skills and wits to accomplish his goal, but he also needs the help of someone even smarter than him: his estranged sister, Charlotte (Natalie Portman). When you think of fun, adventure films chasing lost artifacts, you think of the Indiana Jones series, the Brendan Fraser film The Mummy, the 50s classic King Solomon’s Mines, the goofiness of National Treasure, and the rom-com adventure Romancing the Stone. Fountain of Youth will never make that list. A wasted cast that includes Krasinski, Portman, Domhnall Gleeson, Eiza González, and even a bit part for Stanley Tucci (surely shot either during his Italian travel series or The Conclave) and a plot that becomes so incredibly complicated as it goes along, and a hero in Luke who thinks he can get away with anything by being smug and saying very unfunny quips and you get a mess of a film. Other than a fun open with Luke on a motorbike being chased across busy city streets, the film is a lot of people pondering clues while looking at artifacts and paintings. Portman seems uncomfortable in the role of the sister who disapproves of her brothers stealing art but secretly wants to join in. We are constantly reminded that Luke and Charlotte’s father was a respected archeologist, primarily because of the constant dreams that Luke has dealing with his father finding a lost golden plate. The only cast member who looks like they are having fun in this film is Eliza Gonzalez, who is chasing Luke across the globe, having to beat up a ton of people, including Luke (even though he is always eluding her by trickery, right after hitting on her). Fountain of Youth’s end concludes too easily and with little fanfare, other than a very elaborate set that would make a Lego master drool and a firefight that apparently has no consequences in one of the wonders of the world. That Apple decided that this Guy Ritchie directed film would stay on the streaming platform and not play in theaters tells you just about everything, including that you can watch it while folding clothes or surfing the internet on your phone. Or better yet, watch one of the films I mentioned earlier. Any of those will keep you from constantly checking your email. My Rating: Cable   Fountain of Youth Info  Now playing on the Apple TV+ platform. 

Forgotten Film:  The Quick and the Dead  (1995) R  A female gunslinger called The Lady (Sharon Stone) rides into town with revenge on her mind. Her arrival in town coincides with the start of a dueling competition for gunslingers hosted by John Herod (Gene Hackman), the richest man in the town and who wields power with an iron fist. It’s interesting to see director Sam Raimi’s ode to the Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s and 70s. This was Russel Crowe's first major Hollywood role, playing a former gunslinger who quit to become a preacher. Sharon Stone hand-picked Raimi to direct from a script that was won by TriStar in a bidding war when Westerns had a small revival in Hollywood. Leo DiCaprio looks like he is ten in the role as The Kid, the son of Herod. Leo’s The Kid is a brash young man who thinks he is the fastest gun in the West and enters the competition to get the respect from his father that he has never gotten. Hackman is the man in this film, playing a bad guy who wants everyone to join in his pain. I love the ending of this film with a gunfight, including explosions that are right out of the Sergio Leone playbook (A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). Stone riding off into the sunset, or is it sunrise, after causing as much mayhem as she could, is an ode to all the great westerns of the past when the hero left after completing their mission.  My Rating: Full Price  The Quick and the Dead Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Lilo & Stitch:  Stitch Visualization 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  F1  (2025) PG-13  Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is a retired driver who thought he had burned too many bridges to ever return to F1 racing. An owner (Javier Bardem) wants to make a splash in the racing world and brings in Sonny to team with a new hot shot driver, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Joseph Kosinski, known for ‘Top Gun: Maverick"‘ directs the film. The movie is backed by the F1 association, and portions were shot around some of the F1 races, and many of the current drivers of F1 are in the film.  F1 Website  The film will be in theaters nationwide on Friday, June 27, 2025. 

Until Next Time!

The Wild Robot

My View: The Wild Robot (2024) PG    The Wild Robot takes place when a robot named Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) crashes on Earth and is stranded on an uninhabited island. Roz’s survival depends on her wits and newfound animal friends, including an orphaned baby goose. Roz is going to learn a lot about life and the importance of friends. I will tell you right off the bat that this is not only the best animated film of 2024, but right now, it’s the best film of 2024. This is that rare film that the whole family will fall in love with right from the start. We follow Roz as she learns how to survive on her own, make friends, and become a mom to an orphaned baby goose. The Wild Robot is a film about learning to adapt to your surroundings, how to parent, and how to live your life to its fullest. The animation is gorgeous, the voice cast is brilliant (especially Pedro Pascal as the sly fox), and the story will have you laughing one moment and crying tears the next. The plot is fast-moving, and I loved that there are even a few moments of dark humor thrown in. Lupita Nyong’o is perfect as the voice of Roz, making her a robot with a heart and a mind willing to learn, especially from mistakes. The Wild Robot is a magical tale of a parent’s love for a child, wanting to do everything so that the child can eventually leave the nest and have the tools to go out into the world on their own. The Wild Robot is a stunning film that dazzles with its charm, wit, and heart while wowing us with animation that comes to life. And I can’t wait to see it again on the big screen! My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again The Wild Robot Website Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  Megalopolis  (2024)  R  In Megalopolis, a brilliant architect, Cesar (Adam Driver), wants to rebuild his beloved city and create a utopian future. Not everyone believes in Cesar’s vision, including the greedy mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito). In between the battle for the city is Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), who is divided between her father, the mayor, and Cesar, her beloved. Francis Ford Coppola has made some of the greatest films in cinema history, including The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation. He has also made some stinkers (Jack, Twixt), but he is at a time in his life when he has decided to use his own money to make a film that has been on the drawing board since the 80s. So he brings us Megalopolis, which he calls a fable about how America has become the new Rome, and in so Coppola asks, is America going to fall like Rome did? By the time this film ended, I didn’t care. I was fortunate to see this film about a year ago at a special showing, with Mr. Coppola in attendance. It was a work in progress, with none of the final music, lots of scenes with only natural sound (shown with subtitles so we could understand the low-volume dialogue), and almost no special effects. I came away from that screening wondering what I had just seen and hoping that the film would become much clearer as Mr. Coppola worked on it. The second screening was this past week on a huge IMAX screen. I am sad to say that while the film flowed much better, the script is such a mess that no special effects, sweetening the audio and a soundtrack could fix it. The film is filled with characters making speeches. I felt it was as if Coppola had shown the script to his friends and advisers, and had cut and pasted bits of speeches from past scripts into his final script. The film is full of weird performances that I couldn’t tell if they were due to a badly written script or if they were supposed to be campy and over the top. The plot is hard to follow as characters jump from one scene to another, always making those speeches. Speeches that don’t seem to add up too much of anything. And that’s how I felt when the film was over. The film didn’t add up too much of anything. My Rating: Cable Megalopolis Website   Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Wolfs  (2024)  R   In Wolfs, a professional fixer (George Clooney) is hired to cover up a high-profile crime. However, a second fixer (Brad Pitt) has also been hired to clean up the crime site. The two ‘lone wolves’ are forced to work together, and soon, the two find that their night starts spiraling out of control, much to their dismay. Wolfs is one of those films that will probably be forgotten by the end of the year (and rightfully so), but it’s still fun to watch two movie stars do their job on screen. Clooney and Pitt have great chemistry together, making this film watchable because the plot isn’t much to begin with and gets a little messy as it goes along. Still, I had fun watching it, laughed a few times (especially during a hilarious scene at a seedy motel), and enjoyed watching the two just be cool in each other’s company. I wish it was a better film, but for a popcorn movie that will not win any awards, it’s fun to watch. Just don’t pay much attention to the plot and let the star power take you over. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Wolfs Info Now playing in selected theaters and on Apple TV+.

My View:  Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story  (2024)  PG-13  The documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story tells the story of Christopher Reeve, who went from an unknown stage actor to Superman, only to have his world changed when he suffered a near-fatal horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed. Using the Reeve’s own voice (from his two audio books), the film tells the story of how the Man of Steel became paralyzed and then used that to become a force to get funding to help all people with paraplegia. This beautiful and touching documentary focuses on Reeve and his family fighting to regain his life after the accident. With extensive interviews with his grown children and his first wife (sort of explained in the film) and extensive footage of family videos, we get an inside look at what Reeve went through in the years following the accident. The film goes over his career, as flashbacks, that tell the story of a brash young man who went from off-Broadway to one of the biggest stars of the 70s and 80s. By letting us see and hear Christopher Reeve tell his story, it brings us closer to a man who had faults but also loved his family and his life, even when seen from a motorized wheelchair. So bring a tissue or two and settle down to go on a journey with a man that took us up in the air, flying above the clouds, even when he was still grounded by an accident.  My Rating: Full Price Super/Man Website The film will be soon released to theaters and On Demand.

My View:  Killer Heat  (2024)  R  In Killer Heat, Nick Bali (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), is a private eye American expat living in Greece, and has been hired to investigate the death of a young shipping magnate, Leo, on the island of Crete. Nick discovers that the victim’s sister-in-law, Penelope (Shailene Woodley), doesn’t believe that Leo’s death was an accident. Nick soon learns that the rich control the island, and they don’t want him around to mess up their world. I am a fan of both Woodley and Gordon-Levitt. Unfortunately, they are let down by a script that is slow to develop and makes it too easy to figure out what happened. This is one of those films where you know the two leads took the roles because they got to film on location in Crete. We are given a side story of Nick drowning his sorrows each night by drinking until he blacks out due to something bad that happened between Nick and his wife in the past. The film wants us to think it’s a mystery that only Nick can solve, but alas, most of its viewers will solve it long before he does. My Rating: Cable Killer Heat Website  Now playing on Amazon Prime.

Indiefest:  My Old Ass  (2024)  R  In My Old Ass, on her 18th birthday, Elliot (Maisy Stella) goes to a remote island with her pals and takes some mushrooms. During her mushroom trip, she meets herself at age 39 (played by Aubrey Plaza). Her older self gives her one piece of advice: avoid any guy named Chad. The next day, Elliot, of course, meets a guy named Chad. Uh oh! My Old Ass is a funny and delightful film that is buoyed by an outstanding performance by Maisy Stella. Elliot, a teenager, would rather spend her birthday camping out with her best friends than celebrating it with her family. After watching her friends get delightfully high, Elliot is convinced that she isn’t under the influence until her 39-year-old self shows up. They spend the night talking, and Elliot is left with a warning to stay away from anyone named Chad. Of course, she meets Chad the next day, and he is funny and sweet, the type of guy who could convince a young lesbian like Elliot to change teams. Elliot and Chad continue to run into each other and Elliot slowly develops a crush on him. This coming-of-age film has some emotional moments that have a real impact, and a lot of that has to do with Maisy Stella, who makes Elliot a blast to watch go through so many of her feelings in a short amount of time. If you are seeing the film for Aubrey Plaza, let it be known that she is in it for about ten minutes, and a lot of that is on the phone with Elliot (somehow she can make phone calls from the future). I will say that near the end of the film there is a powerful and moving scene that Plaza just slays. Still, this is Maisy Stella’s film, and she runs with it, bringing us along on this journey that she takes full of laughs, tears, and a better understanding of how important it is to cherish our time with our loved ones. My Rating: Full Price  My Old Ass Website   Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  From Dusk till Dawn  (1996) R  Two brothers, Ritchie (Quentin Tarantino) and Seth (George Clooney), are on a spree of robbing and mayhem, with Ritchie killing almost everyone he meets. They kidnap a family (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu) and head down to Mexico, where they make the mistake of going into a strip club and things get really weird after the sun goes down. Co-written by Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez, the film is part Tarantino caper film and part Rodriquez horror film. The film should have been better, but I think the two styles of Tarantino and Rodriquez clashed. This isn’t a great movie, but the dialogue is off-the-wall fun, and Clooney, hot off his star-making role in ER, is great as the less crazy brother who he tries to reel in every once in a while. Plus, Salma Hayek playing a giant snake-holding stripper turned vampire isn’t too bad. My Rating: Bargain Matinee From Dusk to Dawn Info The film is available to rent/buy on most streaming services.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Wild Robot:  Hair Global Development Supervisor

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Smile 2  (2024)  R  Pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is about to embark on a world tour when she begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. The curse of the smile is back, and Skye has become its next victim. With a great promotion campaign (creepy smilers at major sporting events) the horror film Smile became a box office hit in 2022. Can the Smilers strike twice?  Smile 2 Website The film opens in theaters on Friday, October 18, 2024.

Until Next Time!

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

My View: Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022) PG-13  The story of the life and music of Whitney Houston (Naomi Ackie), who rose from singing backup for her famous mom to becoming one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of all time. You will have to be a huge fan of Whitney to enjoy this overlong soap opera of a film. I liked Naomi Ackie as Whitney, but she is lip-syncing to Whitney’s real singing for all the songs, but a couple of times Ackie sings at home to her daughter or to herself. The songs take up about 40 minutes of this two-hour and twenty-six-minute film, making it one of the longest lip-syncing shows of all time. I love Houston’s songs as much as anybody but do we need every hit she ever had sung for almost the whole song? The biggest problem with the film is the plot spends a lot of time bringing up all of the issues in her life without any resolution (other than escaping into drugs), as conflicts in the film are often just dropped and never dealt with. We never really understand Whitney's attraction for Bobby Brown (played cartoonishly by Ashton Sanders) other than she likes ‘bad boys.' I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a bio-pic that feels like watching a greatest hits program without the actual performer.  My Rating: Cable  I Wanna Dance with Somebody Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Babylon (2022) R  The rise and fall of the people that make the movies in the silent days of Hollywood, including a legendary matinee idol (Brad Pitt), an up-and-coming firebrand of an actress (Margot Robbie), and a man who dreams of making films (Diego Calva). I am a huge fan of silent films, so I was looking forward to this film from Damien Chazelle, the Oscar-winning filmmaker for films such as La La Land (20160 and Whiplash (2014). I wasn’t prepared for the wild ride this film takes you on. The first thirty minutes of this film are some of the most outrageous and outlandish filmed scenes I’ve ever seen. A warning, if you get easily grossed out, you might want to skip this film. Several of the characters are loosely (sometimes very loosely) based on real silent film actors. Brad Pitt’s character, matinee idol Jack Conrad is inspired by John Gilbert, one of the most famous actors in the Hollywood silent period. Margot Robbie’s character Nellie LaRoy is based on the life of Clara Bow, the original ‘It Girl.’ The film takes place when Hollywood was transitioning from the freewheeling days of silent films to the more established studio system that brought in the talking pictures era. This is an overlong and sometimes confusing look at three lives and how they deal with fame, fortune, and power. They also have to deal with how quickly that fame and fortune can slip through your fingers. The film seems to keep adding more and more plot lines just to show us that Chazelle cannot only shock you as he does in the first thirty minutes but also dazzle you with big spectacle filmmaking. The problem is the message is lost in all the spectacle, which is too bad, as there are performances that make the film watchable, including Pitt and Robbie. There’s a lot I would have cut out of this 3 hour-plus movie, including a bizarre sequence with a mob boss played by Tobey Maguire that adds nothing to the plot other than making you feel weird. Instead, you will leave feeling you have seen a dozen films in one night, none of them great.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Babylon Website   Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Familyfaire: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) PG  The years of adventure and being a hero has taken their toll: Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) learns that he has burned eight of his nine lives. Now Puss in Boots finds the evil Lobo (Wagner Moura) hunting him down and enlists his friends Perro (Harvey Guillen) and Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) to help him find a mythical Last Wish to restore his nine lives. Looking back at my 2011 review, I hated the first Puss in Boots film, but boy, oh boy, I loved this one. The film is packed with humor, I loved the new character in Perro, and the animation of the action sequences are kind of mix of Spider-Verse and Japanese anime. It is very apparent that Bandaras and Hayek loved making this film together, and Bandaras gives a brilliant performance as the ego-centric hero who has become scared of dying. Florence Pugh is a lot of fun as a tough, grownup Goldilocks, leading the Three Bears on crime sprees. The film has a great villain in Lobo, the wolf that is Death incarnate, but it’s the performance of Harvey Guillen as the kind, overly friendly Perro that steals the show. You and your family will fall in love with Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws, and especially Perro.  My Rating: Full Price  Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Corsage (2022)  The account of one year in the life of legendary beauty Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Vicky Krieps), who has just turned forty and wants to maintain her status as a groundbreaking royal. This is a film about a woman who wanted to be her own person and not the person her husband, other royalty, and the public wanted her to be. Vicky Krieps gives a beautiful, moving, and dazzling performance of Elisabeth, a woman who was truly before her time and one whose life, while surrounded by servants, was never happy. This is a gorgeous film to watch, and Krieps gives life to a woman who decided to forge her own path, even if it hurt the people she loved. We watch as Elisabeth’s path blazes along, and Krieps, in any unbelievably moving performance, lets us see Elisabeth is all her unhappiness.  My Rating: Full Price  Corsage Website  Now playing in select theaters.

Indiefest: Wildcat (2022) R Documentary about a young British soldier, Harry, back from Afghanistan who is struggling with depression and PTSD. He finds a second chance in the Amazon rainforest when he meets an American scientist, Samantha, and an orphaned baby ocelot. First, let me tell you that this is not a movie for kids. I know it features an adorable baby ocelot, but the film deals with major adult issues, and there are some rather shocking and brutal scenes to watch. This is a movie about how nature and kindness can help heal people dealing with trauma. Harry is a very troubled young man who escapes to the jungle to disappear but finds a purpose to help raise a tiny baby ocelot and train it to return to the jungle as an adult. Some scenes are raw as Harry deals with a past that haunts him. Sam and the baby ocelot can only do so much to heal Harry, and it’s a difficult journey that he travels, sometimes alone. Wildcat is often a very dark and painful film to watch, but in the end, healing and hard work can succeed, even when letting a wild animal go out into the world on its own.  My Rating: Full Price   Now playing in select theaters.  Wildcat Website Now playing in select theatres and on Amazon Prime on Dec. 30th.

Indiefest: Joyride (2022) A headstrong woman named Joy (Olivia Colman) plan to offload her newborn baby on her sister is derailed when a young teenager, Mully (Charlie Reid), steals the taxi she is asleep in. They are about to go on a journey across Ireland that will change both their lives. I wanted to love this film but only like it, and that’s only because of the chemistry between Colman and Reid. The movie is full of plot holes and relies too much on us instantly liking Colman’s character (which we don’t), but Colman can make any part watchable, and Charlie Reid, in his first film role as the young teen Mully is a lot of fun. The film takes a few strange twists, and Colman’s character thinks she can talk her way out of any situation (which she can’t), which takes away from the performances in the end. Still, I enjoyed watching the two characters interact and grow fond of each other; I just wished the plot was better.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Joyride Info  Now playing is select theatres.

My View: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) PG-13  Famed Southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back and has a new mystery to solve. He has been invited to an exclusive private island to play a murder mystery game hosted by a wealthy tycoon (Edward Norton). Things are going great until a real murder happens. Rian Johnson is back with his Knives Out format, bringing back our favorite pompous detective, Benoit Blanc, this time to solve a murder or two with a cast of strange and wonderful characters. This is such a fun movie to watch, and I had a blast with it. The cast is terrific, with actors such as Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, and Kate Hudson filling out the strange and wonderful group of people that Miles Bron, played Edward Norton, playing a sort of Elon Musk character, has invited to his island. Out of this cast, Janelle Monae stands out, playing a mysterious woman with a grudge, who the rest of the group is surprised has shown up for the festivities. Monae is brilliant in the role, and I think she could get an Academy Award nomination for the performance. The film is funny, filled with incredible sight gags, and has a mystery that isn’t easy to solve. I can’t wait to see the next movie that Johnson and Craig bring us because the world needs more of Benoit Blanc solving mysteries.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again.  Glass Onion Website    Now Playing on the Netflix platform. 

Familyfaire: Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022) PG   Matilda (Alisha Weir) is attending a new school and dares to take on the dastardly evil Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). Between parents (Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough) that don’t care about her and a school where Miss Trunchbull rules with an iron fist, what’s a girl to do? How about fighting back with her mind? Now, if you don’t know the story, the school can be a little scary for young kids, but they will love the music and the antics that Matilda and the rest of her cast-mates get into. Emma Thompson gives a villain for the ages, one who calls her students maggots and delights in punishing them. Thompson is almost unrecognizable as the ugly and mean-spirited Miss Trunchbill and belts out a song with the best of them. I loved Lashana Lynch as the sweet and kind Miss Honey, the teacher who tries her best to protect her students from Miss Trunchbull. Alisha Weir is a tiny firebrand of a singer/performer who carries the film, appearing in almost every scene and singing most of the songs, which she does with grace and humor. Weir is a delight on screen, making this enjoyable film even more fun. The songs are fun, though I am not sure there are many you will ever hum to. Still, there are some great, rousing songs, including a couple of fantastic big showy numbers, especially the final number following the big battle with Miss Trunchbull. So gather around and go on an adventure with Matilda and her extraordinary mind.   My Rating: Full Price  Matilda the Musical Website  The film is now available on the Netflix platform.

Forgotten Film: The Holiday (2006) PG-13  Two women (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet) who are both having troubles with their lives decide to swap homes in each other’s countries for the holidays to escape. Both meet a local guy (Jude Law, Jack Black) and fall in love. This is another romance film from Nancy Myers (Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap) that is just fun to watch, and both Diaz and Winslet don’t disappoint. I love the relationship that develops between Winslet’s character and Eli Wallach, who plays an old writer who wrote some of the Hollywood classics. And by the way, Jack Black is toned down and charming in this film (surprise!).  My Rating: Full Price   The Holiday Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody: Head of Paint

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Saint Omer (2022)  Rama (Kayije Kagame) is a novelist who is researching her next work at the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), who is accused of drowning her child. Laurence claims she did it because of demons. The film has made the Academy Award International Films shortlist and is getting rave reviews from critics.  Saint Omer Info In select theatres Mid-January.

Until Next Time!