One Battle After Another

My View:  One Battle After Another  (2025) R  In One Battle After Another, a notorious enemy named Steve Lockjaw (Sean Penn) has resurfaced after 16 years, broken into Bob’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) home, and kidnapped his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). Bob, a civil rights activist, must team up with an anti-government group to locate and rescue his daughter from an alt-right white supremacist group. It's not often that a September movie rises to the top of the Oscar ranks, but Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another manages to do just that. This film combines the laid-back hippiness vibe of The Big Lebowski with the political satire of Dr. Strangelove, while featuring a villain reminiscent of those in '80s and '90s action films—although this character might be the funniest bad guy ever portrayed on screen. One Battle After Another is (I hesitate to tell you this because some of you may want to stay away) the fastest two-hour and forty-minute film you will ever see. The film is a joy to watch and keeps surprising you with both bouts of violence and humor that keep you off-kilter (in a good way), which keeps coming. This is a fast-moving and witty look at America and its political system, but it’s done in such a way that it’s brilliantly executed, and I suspect many won’t realize what hit them until the end. It is going to be fascinating to see if Leo gets an Oscar nod, because it’s such a brilliantly understated performance, one that few actors could do. This is one of those performances that is so expertly crafted that you almost underestimate how good Leo is in the role. Sean Penn is hilarious as the ultra-rigid Colonel, who has a huge flaw (which I won’t reveal) and feels that his place in the history of the world is set in stone. Teyana Taylor as Perfidia is a force of nature as Bob’s partner and the leader of the revolutionary group. Her performance and the essence of her character are brilliantly captured in a scene where she fiercely fires an AK-47 while heavily pregnant. Perfidia is all about the cause, and it consumes her entirely. While she loves Bob, her passion for the revolution takes precedence over everything else. I could go on and on about every performance in this film, but I would be remiss without mentioning how much fun it is to watch Benicio Del Toro as a partner in crime whose character is every bit as cool and laid-back as Leo’s Bob is a bag of nerves. The hero of the story isn’t Bob but his daughter Willa, played with poise and style by Chase Infiniti. Infiniti portrays Willa as a young woman who has had to live with the legacy of a mother who was a radical and a father who has spent most of her years as a paranoid pothead, but has instilled in her a willingness to survive and the guts not to back down. One Battle After Another is a film that puts its foot on the gas from almost the first frame and doesn’t let off until its hilarious and satisfying end. I had a blast watching this film, and it’s not very often that the hype matches the worthiness of a movie. Please see this in a theater with an audience on the largest screen you can find; it will be worth the price of admission. Any film that pays homage to one of my favorite films, Bullitt, is a film that I want to see again as soon as possible. And you will too. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again One Battle After Another Website  Now playing in theaters, including IMAX

My View:  Eleanor the Great  (2025)  PG-13   In Eleanor the Great, Eleanor (June Squibb), after a devastating loss of her best friend Bessie, decides to move from Florida to New York City to live with her daughter and grandson. Feeling more alone than she imagined, Eleanor unexpectedly forms a friendship with a 19-year-old journalism student, Nina (Erin Kellyman). Unfortunately, through a misunderstanding, Nina believes Eleanor is a Holocaust survivor, but it’s Bessie’s story, not Eleanor’s. A lot of attention has been given to the fact that this is Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, and her direction is the weak link in this film, as it’s very bland and unimpressive. Johansson isn’t helped by a script that creates a character who seems to have no sense of shame or conflict. Luckily, Johansson is saved by an outstanding cast that can do the heavy lifting, making the film, despite its flaws, still enjoyable to watch. June Squibb, a long-time character actor with over 100 IMDB listings, has recently emerged as a leading actress, following her Oscar-nominated role as the feisty, swearing wife of Bruce Dern’s character in Nebraska. Squibb easily commands the screen with a laid-back grandmother approach that isn’t afraid to use her charm to get what she wants. Squibb is helped by an outstanding performance by Erin Kellyman, a student who befriends Eleanor to get her to tell her Holocaust story, and in return gets help from Eleanor dealing with the recent loss of her mother and a father (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who has checked out of parenting. Kellyman gives us just the right person for Eleanor to impart wisdom and support to. Some of the heavy emotional parts of the film are handled by Rita Zohar, who is the real heroine of the film that tells her story of the Holocaust. There are some powerful scenes between Squibb and Zohar that provide the background for why Eleanor wants to tell Bessie’s story. Unfortunately, those scenes are undercut by a script that gives Eleanor no moral compass or foresight, leaving her unaware that what she is doing is wrong. So watch Eleanor the Great for the performances, which more than outshine the plot and its direction.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee Eleanor the Great Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

Indiefest:  The Summer Book  (2024)   The Summer Book tells the story of nine-year-old Sophia (Emily Matthews), who is spending the summer at her family’s seasonal home on a remote island in the Gulf of Finland. It’s the first summer without Sophia’s mother, and it will take the beauty of this special place and the nurturing support of Sophia’s grandmother (Glenn Close) to mend the grief that Sophia and her father (Anders Danielsen Lie) are experiencing. The Summer Book is a film that may be too slow and character-driven for some moviegoers to enjoy. However, if you love beautiful cinematography and leads that know how to fill a space without saying a word, then this film is for you. Glenn Close delivers another masterful performance as the grandmother who helps a lost child find her way back. The Summer Book a film about dealing with grief, finding a way to cope, and navigating the complexities of growing up and growing old. The Summer Book is about a time in a life that will be remembered not for what happened but for how much changed within. My Rating: Full Price  The Summer Book Website Now playing in select theaters. 

Indiefest: All of You  (2024) R  All of You is about Simon (Brett Goldstein) and Laura (Imogen Poots), who are best friends and have always joked about dating each other, but have never pursued a romantic relationship. Simon secretly believes that Laura is his one true love, but things change when Laura takes a test that identifies another man as “her one true love.” Will the two ever end up together after all the years of friendship? There is tremendous chemistry between Goldstein and Poots, and we feel the connection, love, and heat between the two characters every time they are on the screen. The repartee between the two makes the film enjoyable to watch, particularly in the first 30 minutes. However, no matter how much chemistry two stars give to each other, they can’t overcome a script that takes too long for there to be conflict, and then the consequences and the problems they cause seem too easily swept away. It’s a frustrating film that aspires to be a romance, but without ever getting to know the two people, other than the fact that they love each other’s company too much. Despite the strong start to the film, I became frustrated and sometimes bored by a script that prefers to give us slices of life instead of the whole pie.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee All of You Info  In select theaters and on Apple TV+.   

Indiefest:  Adulthood  (2025) R  Adulthood is about adult siblings Megan (Kaya Scodelario) and Noah (Josh Gad) who, when their mother is sick in the hospital, discover a dead body in the basement of their family home. That discovery will send the two down a rabbit hole of crime and murder that they may never recover from. Not harsh enough to be a black comedy and not funny enough to be a farce, Adulthood doesn’t know what it is, and that is the problem. The idea is that when the two siblings try to cover up that their mother may have killed a neighbor, that cover-up gets out of control, and bodies start piling up. However, the film never finds its footing, and what could have been funny is never delivered. Instead, we get two actors who have no chemistry together, and the story starts to bog down almost from the start. Scenes that are meant to shock us aren’t staged very well and lack the punch they need to hit the mark. The film has a lot of wasted space that slows down the story. I kept saying as it was playing, ‘Pick up the pace.’ Sadly, it never did.  My Rating: Cable Adulthood Website  Now playing in select theaters and available on Digital. 

Indiefest:  Dead of Winter  (2025)  R  Dead of Winter is set in northern Minnesota, where Barb (Emma Thompson) is fulfilling a last wish of spreading the ashes of her late husband on an isolated lake in the middle of nowhere. While there, she witnesses the kidnapping of a teenage girl (Laurel Marsden) and realizes, with no phone service and too far to get help, she is the girl’s only hope. I have always loved Emma Thompson, and once again, she delivers a remarkable performance as a character that is right out of a particular Coen Brothers movie, also set in Minnesota. Channeling a bit of Bruce Willis or Liam Neeson, Thompson portrays a grieving widow who has to outsmart and outfight a husband-and-wife team (Marc Menchaca and Judy Greer) who, for some nefarious reason, have kidnapped a young woman. I had a great time watching Thompson clop around in the snow in oversized winter overalls, muttering things like ‘oomph’ and ‘geez’ while doing some clever tricks that would make MacGyver proud. Although the film is set in northern Minnesota, it but actually filmed in Finland. Take a sweater to the theater, because I was cold just watching the characters as they dealt with the ice and snow. Dead of Winter is an entertaining thriller with an unconventional hero that you can root for from the start, and hate the bad guys as soon as they appear on the screen. Afterall, who doesn’t want to see Judy Greer and Emma Thompson fight in the snow, wrestling over a rifle? Just don’t mess with Barb, don’t cha know.  My Rating: Full Price  Dead of Winter Website  Now playing in theaters 

Forgotten Film:   The Hot Rock (1972) PG Robert Redford plays Dortmunder, a convicted thief who, upon his release from prison, is convinced by his brother-in-law (George Segal) to go on one last big score and steal a precious diamond from a museum. They hire a crew to do the job and plan an elaborate scheme to make the diamond heist. However, things don’t go as planned and become very complicated very quickly. The Hot Rock is a hilarious film with lots of twists and turns that have hilarious results, and Redford is perfect as the thief who, as things get more complicated, masterminds a break into not one, but two prisons.  My Rating: Full Price (Reprinted from March 2012 to honor the late Robert Redford). The Hot Rock Info Available to rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of One Battle After Another:  Dishwasher

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Anemone  (2025) R   Anemone centers on a man (Sean Bean) who ventures into the isolated woodlands of Northern England to find his estranged brother (Daniel Day-Lewis). They haven’t seen each other in 20 years, and the brother has been living alone in the forest. As they reconnect, they will confront the personal and political traumas that have long been buried between them. This is Daniel Day-Lewis’s return to acting after announcing his retirement in 2017. Anemone Website  In limited release on Friday, October 3, 2025, and wide release on Friday, October 10, 2025.

Until Next Time!

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

Note to readers: I currently am not willing to risk my health (I’m 63 and an asthmatic) by visiting a theatre. All films that I have seen for review have been screened in my home. I am not going to tell you whether or not to attend a theatre. Just be aware of the risks, do your research, and follow the instructions to the letter.

My View:  Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse (2021) R   After a mission that went wrong, Navy SEAL John Clark (Michael B. Jordan) is attacked in his home, and his wife is murdered. Realizing that he and his fellow SEAL team are being targeted, he goes on a mission to pursue the assassins at all cost. I had high hopes for this film because it’s Michael B. Jordan, and yes, he does some serious ass-kicking and looks good doing it, but man, is he let down by a script that could have been a reject from a straight to video Stallone film of the 90s. There is a ton of gunfights and hand-to-hand combat, so action film fans will be somewhat happy. The problem is that the plot is hard to understand, something about the Russians wanting to start a war with the US, or just make us look bad, or the CIA is bad, or heck if I know. I know that this character is a favorite of Tom Clancy fans, but we never quite get a feel of why that is with this film. Also, it reminded me of those Stallone films, where Sly would get hurt, be on death’s door, and then in ten minutes be back to super-soldier like nothing had ever happened. Michael, do us all a favor and go back to the Creed movies or maybe some other superhero, just not this one.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Without Remorse Website  The film is available on the Amazon Prime platform.

Indiefest: Limbo   (2020) R   Omar (Amir El-Masry) is a promising young musician who has fled Syria and is looking for asylum. He is located to a remote Scottish Island to wait with some fellow refugees, all awaiting their fate for their asylum request. I enjoyed this strange, funny, but also dark little film about a bunch of refugees stuck together on an island in a country that doesn’t know what to do with them. The film starts with Omar landing in this tiny, remote town and being thrown into a living situation with a cast of oddball characters. This is a small, slow-moving film about Omar and his experience as a refugee, far from home, guilty about leaving his family and dealing with the depressing existence of being a man without a country and having the prospect of being sent back hanging over his head like a death sentence. El-Masry gives a beautiful and moving performance of Omar, a man who doesn’t like showing his emotions on the outside but inside, we know that he is hurting, mostly because he doesn’t even touch his musical instrument, other than to carry it around everywhere in its case. Sometimes funny, as with a great sequence where two instructors show how to treat a woman through dance, and sometimes incredibly sad, as when Omar talks to his mother on the phone, this film will pull you through the emotional ringer. Limbo is a loving and touching look at the refugee situation that is happening throughout the world as seen through the eyes of people just looking for a better life, one filled with hope, love, and freedom.    My Rating: Full Price    Limbo Website    The film is currently playing in select theatres.

My View: Things Heard & Seen (2021)   A couple, Catherine (Amanda Seyfried) and George (James Norton), moves from Manhattan to a historic home in the Hudson Valley. Jane soon learns that not only does her new home have a sinister past, but her husband also may not be the nice guy she thought he was. The film never delivers the scares that it needs to make this horror film work. The plot is pretty easy to see where it’s going; it's laid out for you in the first thirty minutes as Catherine finds clues to the mysterious and possibly murderous past that the house they live in has. I kept flashing back to Rosemary’s Baby, because like the husband in that film, George is hiding something from his wife, and it’s more than just what happened to the former inhabitants of the house. Most of the scares are the ‘jump out of the dark’ kind, and the film does try to throw you off the path a few times, but by then, you have the plot already figured out. Catherine comes off as being pretty stupid about her husband (hint, he’s not all that great of a guy), and the ending is incredibly frustrating. Thing Heard & Seen is an attempt at a gothic horror story that just never delivers.    My Rating: Cable    Things Heard & Seen Website  The film is available on the Netflix platform.

Familyfaire: The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) PG   The Mitchells are a quirky, weird, and, yes, slightly dysfunctional family whose road trip is suddenly upended by a robot invasion that is about to overtake the world. Can the Mitchells ever get it together enough to save the world? Oh, how we need this film and what a joy to watch as the film literally blows up on screen in front of you. I wish I could have seen this film in a theatre because I am sure I missed some things, as it is so full of jokes and visual pranks that you can’t see them all in one viewing. The hero of the story is Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a young filmmaker who hasn’t always fit in with her fellow classmates but is hopeful and excited about going off to college. In one last attempt to reconnect with his daughter, her father decides that the family is going to drive across the country to take Katie to college, something that Katie does not want to happen. Unfortunately, they pick a time when the world is being taken over by robots who are unleashed upon the world by an unknowing Steve Jobs-like tech guru (voiced by Eric Andre). The film uses Katie’s filmmaking experiences to add to the fun, and I don’t want to let too much out of the bag, but let’s just say that those films are incredibly funny. This is an excellent film for both young kids (who will enjoy the colorful animation and the fast-moving action) and adults, who will understand that the parents want what is best for their kids and for them to be happy. Film lovers will go nuts over the visuals and the inside jokes as the film uses Katie’s knowledge of film to make fun of everything from Zombie films to the latest Indie hits. And I haven’t even mentioned that Olivia Coleman does the voice of the leader of the robot insurrection. Why does she start it? Well, you will just have to go on a little road trip with the Mitchells to find out.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    The Mitchells vs. the Machines Website  The film is available on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: The Outside Story (2020)   Charles (Brian Tyree Henry) is having a bad day. After breaking up with his girlfriend, he has decided to live a solitary life by staying inside his apartment. His plan has been working until one day, he locks himself out and must now interact with the outside world and his neighbors. Before the pandemic, there were people that chose to stay inside their apartments and not deal with the world. Charles is one of those guys, a video editor, who likes the fact that he doesn’t know his neighbors, can get food delivered to his door, and can work from home as a video editor. One day, Charles gets locked out of his apartment and is what he considers hell; he is outside and has to deal with people. This is a small film that uses the talents and like-ability of Brian Tyree Henry to make this film work. Charles is a good guy at heart, and he deals with the people of his neighborhood with a wiliness to help people out, even when it seems that he will never get back into his place. Charles becomes the glue that makes the neighborhood function on this day, and he soon realizes what he has been missing by being stuck inside. The Outside Story isn’t a perfect film (there is a sequence where Charles is mistaken for a burglar that becomes very uncomfortable because of recent events with the police). Still, Brian Tyree Henry is so lovable, and the characters in the film are so broad and fun that we can just enjoy our time out on the street with Charles and his new found friends.    My Rating: Full Price    The Outside Story Website  The film is  available for rent on participating on-demand services. 

My View: Four Good Days (2020) R   Molly (Mila Kunis), a long-time drug addict, has to stay clean for four days before she can enter a life-saving drug program. She asks her mother (Glenn Close) to help her work through those four crucial days of recovery from substance abuse and the scars they have created, both emotionally and physically. This is one of those films that if you are a fan of Close or Kunis, you might have an ok time with this film, but if you are hoping for something other than seeing the two work together on the screen, you can just skip this film. The plot, based on a true story, isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. A mother who wants to believe this time is when her daughter will go clean and a daughter who is so strung out that she will do anything to appear willing to go through with it. I thought that did a good job of giving us an inside look at the torturous relationship of an addict and her mother, but when the film goes outside the house, it feels a bit of manipulation to get our hopes up before possibly dashing them. This film has its heart in the right place but can’t quite figure out how to end the movie, making it feel a little hollow in the attempt.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Four Good Days Website   The film is currently playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: Wet Season (2019)   Ling (Yann Yann Yeo) is a teacher who is in an unhappy marriage where they have become even further apart, brought on by their fruitless attempts at becoming pregnant. Ling becomes slowly drawn towards a promising student (Koh Jia Ler), who his parents have seemingly abandoned. Anytime I hear or read about another teacher/student romance, I wonder just how did that happen. Wet Season attempts to show us just how and why this might happen as two lonely people, who have been abandoned by their loved ones, might turn to each other for kindness and solace. The film shows us slowly just how these two people are drawn to each other, and the film does a masterful job of building up the relationship between the two in small stages. We see how alone the teacher feels as she struggles to get pregnant while being ignored by her husband. The film doesn’t over-romanticize the relationship, and I give points to the movie for doing that. Wet Season is a slow slide down in a relationship that we see coming and dread that it is going to happen. It doesn’t matter the teacher, along with us, knows that the union is doomed before it starts. I found the ending a little disturbing and abrubt but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the film.    My Rating: Full Price      Wet Season Website    The film is currently playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Music Within (2007) R   Richard (Ron Livingston) comes back from the Vietnam War deafened and discovers that the government is not going to help him find or train for a job. He meets Art (Michael Sheen), a wheelchair-bound man with cerebral palsy, and they instantly hit it off, becoming fast friends. Richard meets other people in the disabled community and realizes that the government isn’t doing enough, and he becomes a disability rights activist. The film has a few flaws, mostly due to making Richard the sole reason the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act passed (watch the incredible documentary Crip Camp to get more on this subject) but what I love about this film is the friendship that Richard and Art have. Their friendship is a joy to watch, making this film enjoyable that you can forgive its flaws.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Music Within Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse: Webbing Master

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Dream Horse (2020) PG   Jan (Toni Collette) lives in a small Welsh town, working two jobs, dreaming of doing something different. She decides to breed a racehorse and get her neighbors to chip in, raise the horse and race it. Against all the odds, this small band of neighbors take a horse called Dream and try to make it to the big race. The film also stars Damian Lewis (Homeland, Billions) and is based on a true story. Hey, Toni Collette and horse racing, what more do you want in a movie?    Dream Horse Website

Until Next Time!

Peppermint

My View:  Peppermint  (2018)  R  A young mother (Jennifer Garner) is hellbent on getting revenge on her enemies who stole her life from her. Her husband and daughter are killed by a drive-by shooting and are let go on a technicality. I liked this film, and I really don’t know why. Maybe it’s me wanting to relive Garner’s Alias TV past, but I thought she did a great job The story is little unbelievable but think a female John Wick. Like John Wick, this film is very violent and there is a lot of blood shed. This won’t be for everybody, and I am guessing that not many film critics will like it, but I did.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee    Peppermint Website

Indiefest:  The Wife  (2017)  R  A woman (Glenn Close) questions her life choices and what she gave up when she became the wife of a famous author (Max Irons), who is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Glenn Close gives a fantastic performance in this film, but I was often bored with the very predictable storyline. There isn’t a happy person in this film, and the movie makes sure that you know that. It’s an unhappy film about miserable people who feed off of each other’s misery. The film is made worst by really gross flashbacks as we see how she met her husband, who was her professor who hit on her. Close may get an Academy Award nomination for her performance but this film won’t.  My Rating: Cable   The Wife Website

In Case You Missed It (A movie just released on DVD/Blu-Ray):  Adrift  (2018)  PG-13  A young couple, Tami (Shailene Woodley) and Richard (Sam Clafin)  who are avid sailors, head out on a small boat for the ride of a lifetime. What they don’t know is that they are about to head directly into one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in recorded history  Part romantic movie and part survival film, Adrift successfully melds the two together, mostly due to Woodley and Clafin. The movie moves back and forth, between their courtship in Tahiti, and the storm and its aftermath. Woodley and Clafin have spectacular chemistry and their characters falling in love seems real and beautiful. Woodley has to do the heavy lifting for the wake of the storm, and as usual, Woodley is masterful in her performance. Shot in Tahiti and New Zealand, the landscapes are spectacular, and the storm sequence is riveting. There are some nice twists and turns along the way, and the film moves at a quick pace. You are going to enjoy this film, going on an adventure of a lifetime with Tami and Richard.   My Rating: Full Price   Adrift Website

Forgotten Film:  The Brave Little Toaster (1990) Five household electric appliances have been waiting for 2000 days for ‘The Master,’ a thirteen-year-old boy, to return.  They decide to go to the big city to find their friend. The film feels like a classic Disney film which holds up well in repeated viewings. This is a film that both adults and kids will enjoy and should be a staple in your animation collection.  My Rating: Full Price   The Brave Little Toaster Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Peppermint: Biscuit technician 

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  First Man (2018)  PG-13  A look at the life of the astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. The film is directed by Damien Chazelle, who directed Whiplash (2014) and La La Land (2016).   First Man Website

Until Next Time!