Mike's Fearless Oscar Picks

 

As always these are who I think are going to win on Sunday night, not who I think should win.  If I have a Spoiler listed, it's a someone/film that I think has a chance to win.

Winners in blue!  I got 21 out of 24.

Best Picture:  One Battle After Another               Spoiler: Sinners

Best Director:     Paul Thomas Anderson (One  Battle After Another)                             

Best Actress:   Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

Best Actor:  Michael B. Jordan (Sinners                                      Spoiler:   Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme)

Best Supporting Actress:  Amy Madigan (Weapons)                 Spoiler:  Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)

Best Supporting Actor:  Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)

                                                                                             Spoiler: Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value)

Best Adapted Screenplay:  One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay:   Sinners   

Best Casting:  One Battle After Another                                    Spoiler:    Sinners                    

Best Cinematography:  One Battle After Another                Spoiler: Sinners

Best Costume Design:  Frankenstein

Best Film Editing:   One Battle After Another                                           Spoiler:  Sinners

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:   Frankenstein

Best Production Design:   Frankenstein                                     Spoiler:   Sinners

Best Score:  Sinners

Best Song:   Golden (KPop Demon Hunters)                                    

Best Sound:   F1                                            Spoiler: Sinners

Best Visual Effects:  Avatar: Fire and Ash                             Spoiler: F1

Best Animated Feature:   KPop Demon Hunters

Best Documentary Feature:  The Perfect Neighbor                Spoiler:  Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Best International Film:   Sentimental Value                      Spoiler:   The Secret Agent

Best Animated Short:    Butterfly                      Spoiler: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best Documentary Short:  All the Empty Rooms                Spoiler: Armed Only with a Camera

Best Live Action Short:  Two People Exchanging Saliva                  Spoiler:  A Friend of Dorothy 

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

My View:  Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere  (2025)  PG-13   Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere takes place just as Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) is climbing into the stratosphere of rock stardom. In 1982, he decided to craft and record an album called Nebraska, which caused him to reconcile his stardom with the ghosts of the past. I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and my greatest concert experience was seeing him play for 3 hours in December 1978. So, I was excited to see a film based on the book by Warren Zanes about the troubles Bruce Springsteen faced while recording Nebraska. Two brilliant performances anchor Springsteen: Jeremy Allen White as Bruce and Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s manager and confidant, Jon Landau. White does a fantastic job of bringing Springsteen’s powerful stage presence and charisma to the screen, while also letting us see a personal side of a man haunted by his childhood and depression, which doesn’t always allow him to let people in too close. Strong is brilliant as Jon Landau, a former rock journalist who, after seeing Bruce perform one night, wrote, “I have seen the future of rock and roll and it’s Bruce Springsteen.” Strong gives a nuanced, sometimes reserved performance as a man who cares more about Bruce’s welfare than about albums and top ten hits. The scenes between Strong and White are the film’s best and get to the heart of what Bruce was trying to convey in his music. It doesn’t hurt that we have Paul Walter Hauser to show up from time to time, adding a little comic relief as Bruce’s go-between and somewhat tech guy to help set up Bruce’s recordings from his hideaway home. Springsteen suffers a bit with Odessa Young as the romantic interest, Faye, who starts as just a fun fling but gets serious, much too serious for Bruce at that time to handle. The relationship is pretty shallow and too predictable to make the audience care about how it turns out. The film is also a bit slow, as we spend a lot of time with Bruce walking around by himself or brooding at home, and some scenes showing Bruce as a kid interacting with his father feel slightly overkill. However, the film does a great job of showing how personal the Nebraska album was to Bruce and how much he cared about how he wanted the world to hear what he heard when he wrote the songs. For Bruce Springsteen fans, this will be a great ride down memory lane. For those of you who only know Bruce as an aging rock star, you can see why an album with no hit songs and no publicity did so well at the time and is considered one of the great albums of the 20th century. Hopefully, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere will get you to listen to some of Bruce’s early work, including my favorite, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle.  My Rating: Full Price Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere Website Now playing in theaters nationwide

My View:  Frankenstein  2025)  R   In Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life as part of a horrific experiment. The creation that brought life to the world will ultimately lead to the downfall of both the creator and the creature. There have been hundreds (some estimates exceed 400) of movies about Frankenstein and his monster. Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Pinocchio), a self-proclaimed horror film nut, is the latest to try his hand at the Mary Shelley novel. Does del Toro succeed? In creating a super scary horror film (like I was hoping for)? No. Does he create an engaging, worth-watching psychological drama with a bit of horror thrown in? Absolutely. Unlike some of the films of the past that have portrayed Dr. Frankenstein as misunderstood and somewhat sympathetic, Oscar Isaac’s Doctor is a self-centered, righteous jerk who takes out his bad childhood on everyone he comes into contact with, including ‘the monster.’ We see how horrible the Doctor is as he attempts to steal his brother’s (Felix Kammerer) fiancée, Elizabeth (played by Mia Goth), right under his brother’s nose. However, the Doctor is ‘blocked’ by his own creation, the monster, with whom Elizabeth has a connection. I thoroughly enjoyed Jacob Elordi’s performance as the monster, who transitions from a childlike simpleton to a vengeful creature with more emotion and intelligence than his creator. Christoph Waltz also delivered an impressive, scene-stealing performance as the Doctor’s benefactor, who has his own plans for the monster. The cinematography, set design, and costumes—especially the gowns worn by Goth—are remarkable and effectively set the tone for the film and its characters. However, I wish there had been more focus on the horror elements. Frankenstein opens with an amazing opening sequence that is both terrifying and beautiful, but never delivers the scares I wanted to see in a film like this. Instead, we are presented with a drama centered on a man that we ultimately come to despise and a monster that, while maybe we may not love, we understand better than the Doctor.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee Frankenstein Website  Now playing in select theaters and on Netflix starting November 7, 2025

Indiefest:  If I Had Legs I'd Kick You  (2025)  R   If I Had Legs I Kick You focuses on Linda (Rose Byrne), who is increasingly troubled by the burden of all that life has dumped on her. Between her sick daughter, a house that is falling apart, a husband who is always away, and a very hostile relationship with her therapist, Linda is barely holding on. At the center of the film is a gutsy and magical performance by Rose Byrne, about a character that you want to root for but can’t always because she keeps pushing the boundaries of common sense, while we wait for her world to finally crash down around her. This isn’t a film for everyone, as Linda keeps putting herself in situations that you think are not only bad ideas but could get her in major trouble. Linda is a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown with a husband who manages her life from a phone, a daughter who she has to monitor 24 hours a day because of an illness and a therapist who treats her like she isn’t worth his time (kudos to Conan O’Brien for a taking a role that not only isn’t funny but is our right hate-able). Byrne skillfully portrays Linda, a character who, in the hands of less talented actors, could easily become unlikable or a caricature. Instead, she makes Linda someone we want to root for and care about, hoping she receives the help—both physical and emotional—she needs before she collapses under the weight of responsibility, guilt, and motherhood. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is a fantastic film that combines suspense, black comedy, and heart to tell a story about a woman who is trying to jump through all the hoops and keep in the air all the balls that life has given her but it’s just too much effort to do both simultaneously and Linda in her heart knows it. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again If I Had Legs I'd Kick You Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Blue Moon  (2025)  R Blue Moon tells the story of songwriter Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), who was at the top of the Broadway world alongside his writing partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott). However, Rogers has left Hart to work on his new hit musical, Oklahoma!. Heartbroken and longing for a woman he secretly loves, Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley), Hart decides to attend the afterparty for Oklahoma! in an attempt to drown his sorrows. It’s going to be a night that few will forget. Ethan Hawke gives the performance of a lifetime as Lorenz Hart, who is described at the beginning of the movie as “the saddest man I ever knew.” Hawke portrays one of our greatest lyricist of all time as a man who has no hope with two of the most important people in his life, his former song-writing partner, Richard Rogers (played by Andrew Scott) and a college student, Elizabeth (played by Margaret Qualley), who Lorenz is madly in love with, even though she is over 25 years his junior. Hawke, who is sporting a horrible comb-over (Hawke shaved the top of his head for the role), and through camera and movie magic, has shrunken his height from 5’10 to a little under 5 feet tall for Hart’s appearance. It is a remarkable and commanding performance of a man who has burned too many personal and creative bridges and continues to believe, against all hope, that he has a chance with Elizabeth. It’s a moving performance that makes us root for a man who won’t win any battles, except one of wits. Margaret Qualley is perfect as the beautiful and smart Elizabeth, who sees Hart only as a friend and a way to get into the Broadway world. I loved Bobby Cannavale as the bartender who sees Lorenz not only as a good customer but also as a friend. Who wants to stop Hart from drinking but knows he will always give in to a man he can’t resist. The film is an hour and forty minutes long, but it makes sure we wait, like Hart, for the moments between Elizabeth and Lorenz until the last third of the film. It’s like watching a man who we know is about to be killed by a firing squad, but he thinks he is about to be pardoned. Hawke is a wonder to watch as he is in every scene as Hart weaves his way through story after story, while also figuring out a way to get drinks he shouldn’t be getting. Blue Moon is a film that you are dazzled by a performance of an actor who is playing a man who makes words become songs we will never forget, just as we will never forget this performance that Ethan Hawke has given us. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again Blue Moon Website Now playing in theaters

My View:  Regretting You  (2025)  PG-13 In Regretting You, Clara (Mckenna Grace) and her mother, Morgan (Allison Williams), worlds are shattered when Chris (Scott Eastwood), Morgan’s husband is killed in an automobile accident with Morgan’s younger sister (Willa Fitzgerald). As Clara copes with this tragedy, she begins to uncover a shocking secret that her father and aunt may have been hiding. Regretting You is another in a long line of films that are probably far better books than the movies they are based on. The big twists in the plot are revealed almost from the start, and the decision to let James Franco and Allison Williams, both playing adults in their 30s, also play themselves in numerous flashbacks as teens, was a horrible idea that is jarring, to say the least. The only saving grace of this tearjerker/romance is the performances of Mckenna Grace and Mason Thames as the two teens who are on a collision course to become involved. The two have great chemistry, and both have some star power that lets you forget at times how badly the script is written, with dialogue that seems almost from a 50s TV soap opera. By the way, an AMC here in Georgia has more screen time in the movie than Scott Eastwood does, which was a little weird, since I saw the screening at a Regal Theater. Maybe if the writer had spent a little more time in that theater, the script would have been better.  My Rating: Cable Regretting You Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Shelby Oaks  (2024)   R Shelby Oaks centers on Mia (Camille Sullivan), whose sister Riley went missing after shooting a YouTube video about hunting ghosts. Now Mia has footage from the day Riley went missing, and it turns out the ghosts Riley was looking for might be real. Shelby Oaks starts with a bang, as we see, through news reports and YouTube videos, what happened to Riley just before she went missing. Then a shocking thing happens to Mia in the present day, and I think, now we have a movie. Unfortunately, the plot, like Riley, disappears, and the rest of the film is a slow, disappointing slog that rarely creates anything more than ‘jump out of the dark’ scares and has an ending that we have seen too many times before.   My Rating: Cable    Shelby Oaks Website Now playing in theaters

My View:  Chainsaw Man: The Movie - Reze Arc (2025)  R   Chainsaw Man: The Movie - Reze Arc is about Denji, the “Chainsaw Man”, a boy with a devil’s heart, and part of Special Division 4’s devil hunters. Denji’s life takes a dramatic turn when he meets Reze, a mysterious girl who works at a cafe, and he finds himself falling for her. I am not a big anime fan, mostly because I don’t read the manga and don’t watch the endless TV series. Most of the time, I see an anime that isn’t a standalone, I am lost and spend most of my viewing time trying to figure out what is happening, who to root for, and why they are doing what they are doing (which usually involves a lot of fighting). I am happy to say that not only did I greatly enjoy this film, but I was able to figure out pretty quickly not only who was who, but what the storyline was. Some of it has to do with the main character, a superhero guy who is half a human and the other half a demon who can turn into a fighting machine with not only chainsaw arms but one sticking out of the top of his head and as long as he is reaving up (with a pull cord coming out of his chest) he can’t be killed and can regenerate. What makes this film different from some other anime is that it is R-rated, and a good portion of it is about our hero, like many young men, being torn between two young women who are interested in him. The first portion of the film shows our hero going on dates with both women and how conflicted he is about them, suggesting he doesn’t have much experience with dating. Then, just when things are going great, bad guys show up and mayhem ensues. And I mean mayhem, with lots of blood, arms being blown off or cut off, and people dying in some rather gruesome ways. The film is fun, the action sequences are a blast to watch, and I loved our hero and how geeky and uncomfortable he can be, even though he’s half-demon. I saw the film at a screening full of fans of the character, and they were having a great time watching the antics of Chainsaw Man and his friends, as he goes on dates and has bloody battles with demons out to cut out his heart (I never figured out why that was a significant plot point). So if you’ve never seen anime before and you like lots of action with a bit of romance, this might be a great way to start. My Rating: Full Price Chainsaw Man: The Movie Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost  (2025)   Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost is a documentary about the husband and wife comedy team of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Directed by their son, Ben Sitller, this is a loving tribute to two people who were married for over 60 years and, for the first part of their careers, acted together on stage. Stiller & Meara offers a moving and detailed look at a couple who deeply loved each other but were actors, actors who had ambition to be the best they could be. Aided by the fact that Jerry threw nothing away and was always either tape-recording or filming, the documentary provides an intimate glimpse into the lives of two remarkable comedic actors who were also partners in life. At times, the film may come off as overly sentimental or self-reflective from Ben’s perspective, but it effectively conveys how the couple collaborated to become a successful comedy duo. It also explores how their individual careers and the dynamic of their relationship changed due to their working apart, ultimately benefiting their marriage. It’s also a look at how Jerry and Anne’s parenting and working relationship had such an impact on Ben and his sister Amy. For those of you who only know Jerry through Seinfeld and Anne through all her guest star appearances, his documentary sheds light on the significance and humor of their partnership during their early years on stage. My rating: Full Price   Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost Info  Now playing on the Apple TV+ platform

Forgotten Film:  Predestination (2014)  R   A time-traveling law enforcement officer (Ethan Hawke) goes after the one bad guy who has eluded him all these years - the infamous terrorist known as the “Fizzle Bomber.” During his travels, the officer encounters a woman (Sarah Snook) with a significant tale to tell. I loved this film. It’s quirky and full of twists and turns, so you will not see the ending coming. Hawke is perfect in the role, and Sarah Snook is an absolute revelation in a dual role, bringing a complex character to its full potential. If you like mysteries combined with a little Sci-Fi, then this film is for you.  My Rating : Full Price Predestination Info Avaiable on the Roku Channel and for rent/buy on Amazon Prime

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Frankenstein:  Frankenstein Family Portrait By

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Secret Agent (2025) R In 1977, Marcelo (Wagner Moura) is living in Brazil and is a technology expert fleeing from a mysterious past. He moves back to his hometown to be near his son, but he soon realizes that the city is far from the refuge he seeks. The film is getting a lot of buzz as a possible multiple Academy Award nominee, including Best Actor for Moura. The Secret Agent Website The film will be in theaters on Friday, December 5, 2025.

Black Phone 2

My View: Black Phone 2  (2025) R   Black Phone 2 continues the story of Finn (Mason Thames), who is still haunted by his encounter with and the killing of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Finn’s sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), begins receiving calls in her sleep from the infamous black phone and seeing visions of three boys being stalked by The Grabber at a winter camp called Alpine Lake. The two decide they must investigate the visions, as it seems The Grabber isn’t done with them. I loved The Black Phone (2021), which I felt was one of the best horror films of that year, saying that it was “Part horror film, part ghost story with a whole lot of suspense thrown in, we get a tale that will thrill and shock you without a lot of jump-out-of-the-dark scares.” One of the most enjoyable things about that first film was Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), the feisty and sometimes foul-mouthed younger sister of the lead character Finn. In this sequel, filmmaker Scott Derrickson brings back Gwen, but this time not as a funny sidekick but as the main character. Gwen has inherited her mother’s ability to dream about kids in danger, and she convinces her troubled brother (hey, he fought The Grabber and won), along with a very smitten friend, Ernesto (Miquel Mora), to work at the camp. It’s hard for lightning to strike twice, and unfortunately, Black Phone 2 fails to capture the scares and the imagination that made the first film such a great horror film. I think a little Gwen goes a long way, and featuring her with lengthy, unscary dreams (shot in Super 8 to make it seem dreamier, I guess) slowed down the film and created a lot of mild horror sequences. There are some religious overtones that don’t work, and I’m not sure how much Ethan Hawke worked on this film, but it wasn’t much. There isn’t the sense of surprise or tension that the first film created so effectively. Additionally, what I loved about the first film was that you didn’t see the twists coming. This time, the film just phoned them in.  My Rating: Cable  Black Phone 2 Website   Now playing in theaters. 

My View: Good Fortune  (2025)  R   Good Fortune is about a bungling but well-meaning angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) who interferes in the life of a struggling gig worker, Arj (Aziz Ansari), and a wealthy venture capitalist named Jeff (Seth Rogen). The two men are about to get the shock of their lives. Good Fortune is what I call a “two-hour experience,” which is a film that you enjoy for two hours and then forget almost immediately. It's essentially the old exchanging places story with an angel twist. I enjoyed Keanu as the slightly stupid angel who wants to do more than preventing people from getting into accidents while texting. Keanu as the fallen angel was the highlight of the film, and it’s a sublime piece of acting that keeps your attention, wondering what Gabriel is going to do or say next. However, the other characters felt very one-dimensional, and I thought the film's moralizing was rather heavy-handed. Good Fortune doesn't quite deliver the laughs required to be a proper comedy, nor does it offer enough emotional depth or moral lessons to qualify as a drama. Good Fortune is fine for a diversion, but that’s about all it offers. Though it made me want some tacos, so you have that going for it (you will have to see the movie to know why). My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Good Fortune Website  Now playing in theaters 

My View:  After the Hunt  (2025)  R  In After the Hunt, a Yale professor named Alma (Julia Roberts) becomes embroiled in a scandal when her star pupil (Ayo Edebiri) accuses one of Alma’s colleagues, who is also her best friend and confidant (Andrew Garfield), of wrongdoing. As Alma weighs who to support, a dark secret of Alma’s suddenly comes into play that could destroy everyone. Julia Roberts is one of the all-time greats of her generation, consistently delivering exceptional performances, and she once again delivers a nuanced performance that surpasses the film’s plot. The primary reason to watch this film is the talented cast, featuring a captivating performance by Ayo Edebiri as a student who accuses a professor, and an over-the-top portrayal by Andrew Garfield as a self-important, slimy professor who believes he is God’s gift to women and academia. Unfortunately, the cast is let down by a film that keeps repeating the same idea and tone. It’s a dreary film that repeatedly hammers the same points, combined with melodramatic moments that don’t match the performances of the cast. After the Hunt feels like a film that used to come out back in the 70s/80s and quickly went away, and it’s disappointing that, after the “Me Too” movement, this film couldn’t offer a more compelling narrative. Instead, we keep getting hit over the head with twists that seem forced and an ending meant to shock, but ultimately leaves the audience feeling indifferent.  My Rating: Cable  After the Hunt Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Perfect Neighbor  (2025) R  The Perfect Neighbor is a documentary that tells the story of a minor disagreement between neighbors in Florida that escalated to repeated calls to the police and a horrifying, fatal turn that shocked a neighborhood and a nation. This is a film where you are a fly on the wall as this story unfolds because all the footage is from the perspective of the police body cams as they answer calls to the neighborhood. We see the constant buildup to the incident as the sheriff’s department interviews an older woman who is the source of the calls, complaining about the neighborhood kids going onto her property and harassing her. However, this isn’t your normal Fox Cops show; this is a horror film that we see unfold to us over months that lead up to the killing of a mother who was trying to confront a woman who had constantly called the police on both the adults and the children in the neighborhood. What makes this documentary different is that there isn’t a voice-over, only a day and time stamp. We see this sad story play out, knowing that something bad is going to happen, and there isn’t anything that can be done to stop it. It’s a harrowing watch that builds the tension as tempers rise on each call. Unlike the Cop episodes that we all watched on Saturday night, which tended to make instant heroes out of every cop they profiled, in this documentary, the police aren’t vindicated, nor are they at fault. It’s up to you, the viewer, to decide if the incident that happened was justified, brought on by a law, or if it was a criminal act. This is a film that will stick with you for a long time, and some images will haunt me. The Perfect Neighbor is a brilliant piece of filmmaking that is terrifying, moving, and brings about feelings of both anger and frustration. It is a powerful film that will inspire and infuriate.  My Rating: Full Price    The Perfect Neighbor Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

Indiefest:  Ballad of a Small Player  R   Ballad of a Small Player tells the story of a high-stakes gambler. Lord Doyle (Colin Farrell), whose past and his debts are starting to catch up with him. His only hope is to hit it big, but his luck and his time are running out. Colin Farrell gives a tour de force performance of a man who is on a losing streak but is convinced that all he needs is one good hand to change that. Unfortunately, he plays a game, Baccarat, that is almost solely based on luck, and it seems Lord Doyle is all out of it. Set in the high-stakes gambling world of Macau, Lord Doyle is a man who is always running a con but is running out of time. No matter how good a face he puts on to the world, we see he is quickly descending into a madness that he may never recover from. I did not enjoy this film, with its endless time at the gaming tables, and a film that tends to let Colin go on and on between a drunk and a suave player who is always looking for someone to help him play for another day. I will say that the film does take a turn at the end that makes some of the endless plot holes seem a bit more pleasing. But in the end, Ballad of a Small Player is a losing hand, and the management has asked us to leave.  My Rating: Cable   Ballad of a Small Player Website    Now in select theaters and on Netflix on Friday, October 29, 2025.

Indiefest:  It Was Just an Accident  (2025)  PG-13   It Was Just an Accident is about Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi), who, after hitting a dog by accident with his car, encounters a man from his past, a past that quickly catches up with him. It Was Just an Accident is one of the best films of the year, and if politics doesn’t get in the way, it should be nominated for all the awards. The film is from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and deals with the aftermath of a group of friends who all met while being imprisoned by a brutal government. Panahi knows the subject matter well, having been thrown in jail charged with propaganda against the Iranian government. I won’t give away too much about this film, which is part thriller, part mystery, and has a bit of surprising comedy. It’s a film about justice, revenge, and how people’s lives are drastically changed by a system that continually puts its foot on the necks of those who even mildly resist. It Was Just an Accident is a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end and is one of those films you will continue to talk about for months. This is a movie from a filmmaker who is at the top of his game and knows how to push every button to create a film that will hit you to your core.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  It Was Just an Accident Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View: Re-Election  (2025)  PG-13  Re-Election is about Jimmy (Adam Saunders), a 42-year-old who has never gotten over losing the high school election for class president. Jimmy re-enrolls in high school to run for class president again, and his primary opponent might be his own ego. Re-Election is one of those films with its heart in the right place, but it doesn’t have a clue how to deliver its message. The biggest problem with the film is that we don’t like Jimmy. He is fixated on how he lost his high school election and is willing to throw anyone under the school bus to win this election. The film has more holes in the plot than a full five-ring binder full of paper, and though I enjoyed a few of the performances, including Bex Taylor-Klaus as a gender neutral advocate, who becomes Jimmy’s campaign manager, trying to guide Jimmy through today’s high school politics. Re-Election is a one-joke film that never delivers, much like the politicians that Jimmy wants to be like.  My Rating: Cable  Re-Election Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Familyfaire:  Grow (2025)  PG  Grow takes place in the Pumpkin Capital of the World, where a farmer named Dinah (Golda Rosheuvel) has taken in her niece, Charlie (Priya-Rose Brookwell). As the town prepares for its annual pumpkin-growing contest, Dinah soon realizes that her niece has a knack for connecting to plants and that Charlie could be the link to finally winning the competition. Grow is a charming family film about a girl who has a unique talent for communicating with plants. Charlie not only helps a pumpkin grow but also heals the heartbroken farmer Dinah, who is on the verge of losing her family farm before Charlie arrives. Priya-Rose Brookwell is a joy to watch as Charlie. Although the storyline is simple, the entire family will enjoy Charlie's antics as she works her magic.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Grow Website  Now playing in select theaters

Forgotten Film:   Butter (2012) R  Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner) is married to Bob (Ty Burrell), the 15-time winner of the Iowa State Fair Butter Sculpting competition. Bob is forced to retire, so Laura decides to enter the competition. Little does she know that Destiny (Yara Shahidi), a ten-year-old girl, has also entered. Laura will do everything she can to win the contest, even if it means cheating and playing dirty tricks. Butter is a funny film that has a great deal of heart. I especially liked Olivia Wilde’s performance as the stripper, Brooke, who, after meeting Bob, is convinced that he is now her man. Garner is good as the determined Laura, and Yara Shahidi is perfect as the child who has been shipped from one foster family to another, hoping that her long-lost mother will eventually show up. The large cast also includes Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone, Rob Corddry, and Phyllis Smith. Be sure to stick around after the first end credits; there are several hilarious outtakes.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Butter Info   Available on most streaming platforms 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Black Phone 2: Super 8 Specialist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Frankenstein (2025) R In Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life as part of a horrific experiment. The creation that brought life to the world will ultimately lead to the downfall of both the creator and the creature. One of the most anticipated films leading up to the end of the year critic voting and Oscars, this film is written and directed by Academy Award-winning horror fan Guillermo del Toro.  Frankenstein Website  In select theaters on October 24, 2025, and on Netflix on November 7, 2025.

Until Next Time!