Wuthering Heights

My View: Wuthering Heights  (2026)  R Wuthering Heights is the legendary love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors that follows the intense, sometimes destructive relationship between Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) and Catherine (Margot Robbie). Writer/director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) clarified that she was making a personal version of Wuthering Heights and not a direct adaptation of Emily Brontë’s much-loved novel. Your first clue is a soundtrack mostly composed of songs written and performed by Charli XCX, which gives the film a bit of a modern touch, though not as much as I anticipated. I have a feeling that fans of the book will be disappointed with this rather disjointed telling. The first half, which covers Catherine and Heathcliff’s childhood, is the most interesting part of the film. The dynamic between the two characters as children is interesting and at times riveting. I can’t say the same thing for when Heathcliff and Catherine are adults, especially when Heathcliff leaves for a spell because of Catherine getting married to rich suitor Edgar (Shazad Latif). I didn’t like the chemistry between Robbie and Elordi, as it never gave off the sparks that the film needed. Here’s a clue to this film: anytime it rains, you know Catherine and Heathcliff are going to have sex. And it rains a lot. I also had a hard time understanding Elordi’s dialogue, as he tended to swallow his words, trying to be the illiterate, brooding tough guy. I didn’t like any character in this film, including our two lovers, who seem like spoiled brats, selfish, and unable to keep their hands off each other (especially in the rain). I am surprised the film didn’t end with a rousing remake of “Blame it on the Rain”.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Wuthering Heights Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Crime 101  (2026)  R  Crime 101 follows a jewel thief named Mike Davis (Chris Hemsworth) whose heists along the 101 freeway have made him a legend and have left the police baffled. Mike has set his sights on the ultimate score and finds out that Sharon Colvin (Halle Berry), an insurance broker, wants in on the deal. Can Mike trust Sharon, or is she setting him up for a fall? I am a big fan of the Michael Connelly Harry Bosch book series, and one thing Connelly does is always talk about the traffic in L.A. Writer/director Bart Layton and Cinematographer Erik Wilson do a great job is capturing the look and feel of L.A. with its long line of cars on the freeway and the homes and hotels of the rich, along with the scenes of the homeless on the street, as our hero Mike figures out his next heist. I had fun with this film and its multiple storylines, which keep intersecting throughout. The film has some nice twists, and I had expected that there would be a romance between Hemsworth and Berry, but that’s not the case. Instead, both characters see each other as a tool to be used to get what they want. In fact, there is more attraction between Berry’s character, a woman who keeps bumping up against the glass ceiling and can’t break through, and Mark Ruffalo’s world-weary but by-the-rules cop, as they both are getting screwed by their bosses. Instead, there is a fun romance between Hemsworth’s character, who has a troubled past, and Monica Barbaro’s character, a woman he meets in a strange ‘meet-cute’ moment. I was amazed by how that relationship turned out. The big heist kept me guessing, and I thoroughly enjoyed Barry Keoghan’s motorcycle heist man, who is way in over his head on everything he does. It must be fun to be Keoghan these days, taking parts where he can go nuts. Crime 101 isn’t a brilliant film (comparing it to LA centric movies like Heat or Beverly Hills Cop), but it’s a fun time with a great cast and a city that is always interesting to be in.  My Rating: Full Price  Crime 101 website  Now playing in theaters 

Familyfaire:  GOAT  (2026)  PG  GOAT is about Will, a small goat with dreams of going pro and playing roar ball, the high-intensity, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world. Will is determined to prove he belongs and that “smalls can ball!” I don’t know, maybe kids who love basketball or goats will like this movie, but I was bored almost from the start. I didn’t like the animation style, which at times felt soft and at other times too harsh. The plot was too simple, the storyline wasn’t well thought out, and I didn’t care if the team of misfits ever won a game, much less make it to the championship. The film kept throwing ideas at us, as if it had decided to play dodgeball rather than basketball. Steph Curry, who produced the film and voices one of the characters, needs to stick to winning championships and stay out of the animation chair.  My Rating: Cable   GOAT Website Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Jimpa  (2025)  Jimpa is about Hannah (Olivia Colman), who, along with her nonbinary teenager, Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), travels to Amsterdam to visit her gay father Jim (John Lithgow), who goes by the term Jimpa, instead of grandpa. When Frances expresses an interest in staying with her ‘Jimpa’, Hannah is forced to re-examine her parenting and her past. Jimpa is a film with its heart in the right place, but it doesn’t know how to convey that message without hitting us over the head. The film features impressive performances by John Lithgow and Olivia Colman, but it feels like it is filled with meaningless subplots, mostly involving Frances and their quest to find a place in the world. The film never hits the mark with its overabundance of sentimentality. It’s funny that Jimpa is about a filmmaker, Hannah, who is told that her next film project doesn’t have enough conflict to make a good drama. I can say the same thing for Jimpa.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Jimpa Website  Now playing in select theaters

Indiefest:  Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die  (2025)   R   In Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, a “Man From the Future” (Sam Rockwell) shows up at a Los Angeles diner and takes the patrons hostage. He claims he is a time traveler and needs their help in stopping AI from eventually destroying humanity. Sam Rockwell has so much fun in this role as the madman who bullies people into joining him in what he knows is likely a suicide mission. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a wild ride with outstanding performances from Juno Temple as a mom grieving the son she thought she knew and Haley Lu Richardson as an angry, depressed young woman who seems set on joining the group because she wants to die. The film is incredibly wacky and doesn’t follow any rules, but its message is timely. How many times have you seen people walking into traffic or running into people because they can’t look up from their phones? That’s the core of this film, how the internet and our technology doesn’t care about us, it just wants our full-out attention. So put down your phone, get ready to see some really weird stuff, and join in on the revolution to stop AI from taking over the world and our lives. The “Man from the Future” will show you the way, though you might want not to go first.  My Rating: Full Price  Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Cold Storage  (2026)  R  Cold Storage is about two employees, Travis (Joe Keery) and Naomi (Georgina Campbell), who work at a self-storage facility built atop a former military base. Their night becomes a nightmare when a rapidly mutating, parasitic fungus escapes from the base. Their only hope is a grizzled bio-terror operative named Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson). Who would have thought that Academy Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, Oscar-nominated actress Lesley Manville, and Liam Neeson would be in a zombie/fungus taking over the world movie and would have some sizable parts to boot. Keery and Campbell are fun as two security guards tasked with saving the world. The plot is pretty simple, and the zombies are really gross, with lots of splatter going on, including a zombie throwing up on a bunch of bikers to infect them. Neeson looks like he is having a blast in the part, along with a chain-smoking Manville. I assume Vanessa Redgrave is a friend of someone involved in the film, because she is there for comic relief and isn’t really important to the plot. This is one of those films that's perfect for a Saturday night, with lots of popcorn and a few drinks. Just don’t get anything green to drink. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Cold Storage Website Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie  (2025) R  Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie takes place when Matt (Matt Johnson) and Jay (Jay McCarroll) try to book a show at the Rivoli, and it goes horribly wrong. So the guys try to create a time machine, like in Back to the Future, and guess what? It works! Only they are now in the year 2008 and can’t get back home. I didn’t know much about the guys or their show, but judging by the enthusiastic and boisterous audience, fans of their work are going to love this film. The duo takes a bit of getting used to, and their harebrained schemes are outlandish, but that’s the charm of these very Canadian guys, who say hello to almost everyone on the street and often ask where people are from, just to be nice. There is a running joke about copyrights that is hilarious, including stealing a whole lot from the earlier-mentioned Back to the Future films. And beware of anyone afraid of heights; a good deal of the plot revolves around the CN Tower, one of the world's tallest free-standing structures. You might need a parachute, or two.  My Rating: Full Price  Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie    Now playing in select theaters 

Forgotten Film: The Strawberry Statement  (1970) R A college student (Bruce Davison) joins a group of campus organizers, not because he is caught up in the politics of the day but because he hears it’s a great way to meet girls. And he does meet a girl (Kim Darby), but he also realizes the issues that they are protesting are meaningful and worthy. He soon learns that the protests can become scary and violent. This is a film that, while dated by being made during the Vietnam protests of the late 60s, still packs a punch and explores  ideals that are still relevant today. The film is enhanced by a great soundtrack featuring songs by Neil Young, John Lennon, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. This is one of the late Bud Cort's first feature films.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Strawberry Statement Info  The film is available to rent on Apple TV+

Weird Credits: From the credits of Wuthering Heights: Candle Wrangler

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Undertone  (2025)  R  A host of a popular paranormal podcast, Evy (Nina Kiri), is sent some mysterious and terrifying audio recordings that somehow become real in Evy’s world. Film critics who have seen the movie are giving it great reviews, and the trailer looks really scary. Plus its from the A24 studio, so you know its going to be a little bit weird.  Undertone Website  In theaters on Friday, March 13, 2026  

Until Next Time!

Transformers One

My View:  Transformers One  (2024)  PG  Transformers One tells the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, who, when they were young, were friends who bonded like brothers. Little did they know that the two would change the fate of Cybertron forever after discovering what they had always been told was false. I am not a big fan of the Transformers films (other than Bumblebee (2018) and Transformers (2007)), but I know there are a lot of fans out there who love the series going back to the 80s TV show and the legendary The Transformers: The Movie (1986) that had a voice cast that included Orson Welles and Leonard Nimoy. I’ve lost count of how many live-action films there are, most of which were directed by Michael Bay. Having said all that, this is maybe one of the first films in the series that is not only good but is fun to watch, and not just for fans of the series. Transformers One is an origin story, so if your knowledge of the Transformers universe is only knowing that they are giant robot-like beings that turn into cars and trucks, you will be okay. We get to see how Optimus Prime and Megatron, who we learn were best friends, became the leaders of two warring factions that battled for control of the universe. The voice cast is outstanding, with great performances by Chris Hemsworth as Optimus, and Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron. Hemsworth worked with Peter Cullen, who has been the voice of Optimus for the franchise, to get ideas on how a young Optimus might sound. The rest of the cast isn’t too bad either with Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson taking key roles. There is one voice actor who steals almost every scene he is in, Keegan-Michael Key, as B-127 (soon to be Bumblebee, a fan favorite in the Transformers world). Key is brilliant as the overly excited young worker who wants to be with the guys he sees as heroes, only to discover that he can become one. Transformers One is an old-fashioned origin story of how a villain is created by gaining power (both physically and emotionally) and a voice to express that power. It is also about how we need heroes to stand tall and be willing to sacrifice to stop those villains from wielding their power. So take the kids and, for once, have a good time yourself at an animated Transformers movie. My Rating: Full Price  Transformers One Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

My View:  Never Let Go  (2024)  R  Never Let Go is about a mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV) who have been haunted by an evil spirit for years. Even when traveling outside, they keep themselves connected by tethering themselves with ropes, ensuring they are always linked back to their house. When one of the boy’s questions if the evil is real and the ties that bind them together are severed, their fight for survival becomes life and death. This film starts with an interesting premise: you have grown up only knowing what your mother has told you, that there is an evil force outside your home and the only way to survive is to stay connected to the house. Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) are becoming older, and Nolan is beginning to question whether what Mamma tells them is true or not. Is there really an evil force that wants to kill them as soon as they lose connection to their home? The film tries hard to create a horror aspect that it never delivers, as very early on, what Momma believes and sees is a very evil and scary world that constantly tries to trick her into letting her guard down. Even when some gross-looking characters come to torment Momma, the chills don't register. I thought Berry gave it her all with a character that, at times, is fierce and strong but also tilts on the side of madness. Both Percy Daggs IV, as the ever-questioning Nolan, and Anthony B. Jenkins as Samuel, always on the side of caution, always backing up his mother, even when it seems things aren’t what she says they are. Unfortunately, the final third of the film becomes a big mess, as the film fails to deliver what it has set up. The film becomes less of a horror film and more of a movie about who will win a will of beliefs. And while I won’t give it away, I hated the final bit of information the film gives us, a horror trope I have always detested when used.  My Rating: Cable  Never Let Go Website   Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Child Star  (2024)  The documentary Child Star explores the world of being a child star and how growing up in the spotlight and their ascension to fame, riches, and power affects their adult lives. Demi Lovato provides us with an inside look into the pressures and pitfalls that arise when children become stars at a young age. Lovato, whose own troubles were seen in the documentary Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, takes us on a journey to explore what happens to children who often become the breadwinners of their family and are under constant pressure to preform, often at a nonstop pace. Lovato interviews former child stars Christina Ricci, Drew Barrymore, Raven-Simone, Kenan Thompson, JoJo Siwa, and Lovato’s fellow Rock Camp star Alyson Stoner. It’s a fascinating and, at times, horrifying look at an industry that often treats children as commodities to make money, and then when they grow up, or the ratings have gone down, to be let go without a support system to help them transition back into the real world. The film looks primarily at the world of Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel and how those two channels battled it out to make as much money off of their stars as they could. The documentary shows us too often that the star-making machine creates insecurity, eating disorders, and, ultimately, looking to drugs and alcohol as a way to escape. What I loved was that the blame wasn’t always put on the parents, as often they were only trying to make their children’s dreams come true. It's shocking to see how many child stars end up with almost nothing after their stardom ends due to mistakes and con artists. The film, unlike the documentary Quiet on the Set, doesn’t go into the seedier side of child exploitation but concentrates on the mental well-being of the children that grow up on sets, constantly being told they need to lose weight or they are pretty enough to get a role. And what we come away with is that Lovato is passionate and caring about making things better for the child star of tomorrow. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Child Star Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

My View: The Substance (2024)  R   Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) used to be the ‘it girl’, the woman that every man wanted and every woman wanted to look like. Elisabeth’s star has faded (literally as we see her Walk of Fame star develop cracks and fade during the opening credits), and she is getting old, at least as far as Hollywood is concerned. When on her birthday, she loses her job as host of a workout show (think Jane Fonda) and gets into a traffic accident, where she meets a doctor who slips her a jump drive that promises her a new, young, and improved body if she agrees to take a drug known as The Substance. The drug will transform her into a new person for 7 days, but then she must return to her old form for 7 days. What it doesn’t tell her is that her old body will be dormant for 7 days, while her new body, which is born out of her back, produces a new body (portrayed by Margaret Qualley), who takes the name of Sue. I will warn you that this film is full of incredibly uncomfortable and gross transformations, as the new body is first born out of the back of Elisabeth, reminiscent of horror films like Alien and The Fly. As the movie progresses, it becomes increasingly bizarre and repulsive. While a horror film, it is also a satire, with the film mocking the Hollywood system, controlled by dirty old men, with an emphasis on sex and beauty, always looking for the new fresh face. I became numb at all the incredibly over-the-top scenes, whether it was the extreme close-ups of the executive (played by Dennis Quaid) as he eats like a pig while firing Elisabeth or the constant transformations as Elisabeth suffers bodily disfigurement as the Sue person continues to be young and beautiful. I was excited to see this film because I am a big Demi Moore fan. Hollywood has ignored her for far too long, but after the first 30 minutes of the film, I became more and more disappointed that she was thrown into being the monster in a bad horror film. While I was impressed by the lack of CGI used to create all the special effects, the film went overboard with them and tried to constantly shock us. The film’s ending is as bizarre as the rest of it and makes it feel like a farce, more than a satire, as we end where we started, on the cracked and faded star on the Walk of Fame. I left The Substance feeling disappointed and longing for my two-plus hours back.   My Rating: Cable  The Substance Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) R   Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) is tired of the dating scene and her bad luck with men. Her job as a copy editor and fact-checker causes her to be a perfectionist and overthink situations. She works for Josh (Scott Cohen), who used to be her boyfriend. After a series of disastrous dates, she decides to try dating a woman and answers a dating ad. Into Jessica’s life comes Helen (Heather Juergensen), who is instantly attracted to Jessica and is willing to try, taking it slow with Jessica. Helen is constantly amused by Jessica’s attempts at being with another woman, much like a person who doesn’t know how to swim, going to a pool and slowly dipping their toe into the water. I love this film, mostly because of the performance of Jennifer Westfeldt, who portrays Jessica as a woman with a good heart but someone who wants to go slow, really slow, in this new relationship, all the while worrying about what other people will say when they find out she is dating a woman. Kissing Jessica Stein is a romantic comedy with heart and wit and a lead that shines in every scene she is in. My Rating: Full Price  Kissing Jessica Stein Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Substance:  English Translation

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  We Live in Time  (2024)  R  An up-and-coming chef (Florence Pugh) and a recent divorcee meet under some incredible circumstances that brings them together, in a decade-spanning look at life, love and heartache. The film wowed audiences at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival.  We Live in Time Website The film releases in theaters on Friday, October 18, 2024. 

                                                                   Until Next Time!

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

My View:  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice  (2024) PG-13  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice begins after an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family have come home to Winter River and the house we all know so well. Lydia (Winona Ryder) is still haunted by Beetlejuice, and to make things worse, her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), has discovered that mysterious model of the town. It’s only a matter of time before someone’s name will be uttered three times. So Tim Burton and Michael Keaton decided it was time to revisit the weird house up on the hill. So the big question is, does going back to see the ‘Juiceman’ work? Yeah, it does. Is it anywhere close to the original? No, but it’s still a good, funny popcorn film that you will have a great time watching. One thing that Burton did is realize that Keaton is in only about 15 minutes of the 1988 film because most of the film is about Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis’s characters dealing with being dead and then trying to get their unwanted houseguests the heck out of there. So Keaton is in this film a lot more; in fact, there seem to be about four plots going on simultaneously, and Keaton’s Beetlejuice is involved in all of them. Catherine O’Hara is back as Delia Deetz, and O’Hara steals every scene she is in, just as you would expect, with some of the film’s best lines. Ryder does an admirable job of playing the mom who has made a career as a woman who can see ghosts. Lydia is just trying to keep things together after her ex-husband disappeared on a trip to the Amazon. Besides Keaton, this is Ortega’s film, as she plays a young woman who had to grow up as the daughter of the ghost whisper, and she misses her father, who made things seem not quite as weird when he was around. Ortega does a great job of selling us on a person who is constantly giving the side eye to her mom, especially when she brings up seeing the afterlife around them. Keaton has a blast as the man we all came to see and he doesn’t disappoint with lots of quips that only Beetlejuice can say (or do). The film is a little bloated by a secondary plot led by a character played by Monica Bellucci, who never quite feels like her character really was needed. The film also has a bit of trouble trying to tie all the loose ends together, and some of the resolutions to big plot lines seem rushed. Still, I had a great time watching this film, and yes, there are plenty of callbacks to the first film, including the shrunken-head guys (one of who plays a pretty big part). I also loved that a lot of the special effects weren’t done with CGI but with things that made the first film so much fun to watch, with lots of strange and creepy puppet-controlled ghouls and some stop-motion animation. So get ready to say a certain guy’s name three times and go back to the world of the weird and creepy. You will have a fun time.  My Rating: Full Price  Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

Indiefest:  His Three Daughters  (2024)  R  His Three Daughters is the story of three daughters (Elizabeth Olsen, Natasha Lyonne, and Carrie Coon) who converge on their father’s New York apartment to care for him in his last days. In the next three days, the daughters will try to heal old wounds and come together to patch together a family that has been separated for far too long. This is a film about how families aren’t always what they seem. Katie (Carrie Coon) is the woman who wants to plan everything, has opinions on everybody, and can’t seem to sit still. Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is a free spirit who does yoga, tries to be the peacemaker, and seems to have a successful life. Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) is the daughter who has been living with their father for the past few years, taking care of him as his sickness took control of both their lives. Rachel, who has a different mother than the other two sisters, spends most of her days doing off-track betting and getting high. She would rather spend time in her room than interact with her sisters. The three are forced to work together to make their father’s last days as comfortable (aided by a couple of hostel nurses to help them make his death as painless as possible. His Three Daughters is a warm, funny, and touching film that also has a few tearful moments. All three women are wonderful in their roles. Coon has the most demanding role because Katie is not a likable person, and it’s Coon’s job to let us see beyond the hard shell that Katie has put up. Coon lets us know she does care but couldn’t always deal with the fact that her father was sick and dying. Olsen is fun to watch as the seemingly always positive Christina, who tries to keep things moving along but uses her yoga to escape when things get too tough. Of the three, Natasha Lyonne is the actor who shines throughout as a woman who just wants the whole thing to be over and uses her betting and getting high to escape the reality of her father’s soon-to-be death. Lyonne is perfect in the role, delivering the film’s center, as we see things through her (sometimes bloodshot) eyes. There are some incredible moments in this film, one of which is when Rachel’s boyfriend, played by Jovan Adepo, who knows how much Rachel has done for her father and lets the other two sisters have a piece of his mind on how they don’t known Rachel and what she has done this past year. I loved everything about His Three Daughters (though there is a section near the end that I wish wasn’t a part of the film, but that’s nitpicking), and the performances by these three outstanding actors are worth the price of admission alone. Just bring a tissue or two.  My Rating: Full Price  His Three Daughters Website    Now playing in select theaters and on the Netflix platform on September 20th. 

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see in theatres but have seen recently):  The Killer  (2024) R   In The Killer, Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel) is the most lethal and feared assassin in the business. In fact, she is known by the name Queen of the Dead. Zee takes a job to kill a young blind woman (Jenna Silvers) and has a change of heart. Now, every hitman in Paris is out to kill her, and her only ally is a French detective (Omar Sy). A few directors have remade their own films through the years. Hitchcock is the one everyone remembers when he remade The Man Who Knew too Much. Was it a better film? I am a fan of Hitchcock’s early work, so I don’t think any film that has Doris Day sing Que Sera, Sera about a million times is a better film. In 1989, John Woo brought us The Killer, considered one of the best action films of all time, and brought Woo to Hollywood. So why would Woo remake this film? Sure, you can do a few more things with CGI than you could with actual stunts in 1989, but that’s what made that film stand out. Its action sequences are brilliant, and I loved how Ah Jong, the hitman played by the totally cool Chow Yun-fat, didn’t just shoot a person once (like so many of Hollywood’s action heroes). No, he shot them 6 to 10 times before moving on to the next guy. So, in this remake, Woo has our hero as a woman, Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel), known as the Queen of the Dead. It’s basically the same setup: our hero goes out to do a hit, and a singer gets caught up in the gunfire and is blinded by the firefight. Zee feels guilty, and instead of killing the singer, the only person who can testify against Zee, she saves her instead. The Killer has plenty of gunplay, some fun chase sequences, and a couple of well-choreographed firefights. However, Nathalie Emmanuel doesn’t have the star power to pull off the most feared assassin in the business. I also did not like the chemistry between Emmanuel and Omar Sy, who plays the cop who can’t be bought and slowly becomes Zee’s ally in bringing down the bad guys. One of the great things about the original was the chemistry and friendship that developed between the assassin and the cop. There just isn’t much there for us to care about either character. Woo pulls a few changes to the script (which I won’t give away), but I am incredibly disappointed by the ending of this film. It’s hard to revisit your old haunts, especially when they are shown so brightly in the past. Sometimes, it is best to let things stay in the past.   My Rating: Cable  The Killer Website   Now playing on the Peacock platform.

Indiefest:  Red Rooms  (2023)  Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) is a model by day and an online poker player at night. Although she excels at both, she doesn't find much pleasure in either (although she enjoys watching men lose). She starts attending a high-profile trial of a serial killer, but not just any serial killer, but one where the man kidnapped young teen women, held them captive, and tortured them to death, all while videotaping them. Kelly-Anne's obsession with the trial is so great that she sleeps outside the courthouse to be first in line to get into the proceedings. Kelly-Anne has started on a path that will become such an obsession that she will risk her career to keep going. Not only that, she is willing to pay any amount to obtain the missing footage of one of the girls. Red Rooms is a dark and disturbing film that looks at how people get so involved with serial killers, making them almost part of a weird kind of religion where they worship at the feet of the killer. We don't exactly understand why Kelly-Anne does what she does, but we watch her become more and more obsessed with the murderer and what he did. Juliette Gariépy does a magnificent job of keeping Kelly-Anne at an arm’s length from us, the audience, and we never see her waver, even when things seem at their most desperate. I saw the film at the 2024 Atlanta Film Festival and could hear the audience occasionally gasp as we followed Kelly-Anne down the rabbit hole. Red Rooms is a horror film without the bloodshed (we never see the footage, only hear the screams), but it’s still scary as a young woman seems to lose her self-worth as she delves deeper and deeper into an abyss that she may never come out of.  My Rating: Full Price  Red Rooms Website   Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Boomerang (1992)  R  Marcus (Eddie Murphy) is a successful cosmetic company executive who loves to date women like they are just another conquest, another notch on his bedroom headboard. He meets his match when Jacqueline (Robin Givens) becomes his boss and plays Marcus like all the women he used to date. She flirts with him, sleeps with him, then dumps him, and then does it again. Marcus soon realizes he is being played with like he used to play women. His eyes are opened when he realizes there has been a remarkable woman right there all along, Angela (Halle Berry). The cast shines in this film with Givens perfect as the man-eater who doesn’t care who she hurts, as long as she is in power, and Berry as the sweet and wonderful Angela, a woman who is perfect for Marcus, if he would only realize it. Boomerang is one of those movies that makes me mad at Murphy because he is brilliant in this film and plays Marcus perfectly, but too often in Murphy’s career, he took the easy money and made a bunch of crap films that were below his talent. So see this film, revel in Berry and Murphy’s chemistry, and have fun with Givens giving Marcus his just turn at being used. My Rating: Full Price  Boomerang Info  Available on Amazon and Apple TV to rent or buy.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Shrinker Performers 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Never Let Go  (2024)  R  A mother (Halle Berry) and her two sons (Anthony B. Jenkins, Percy Daggs IV) have been haunted by an evil spirit for years. They stay connected at all times, even tethering themselves with ropes when they travel outside so they are always connected back to their house. When one of the boys questions if the evil is real and the ties that bind them together are severed, their fight for survival becomes life and death. I’ll go see Halle Berry in anything where she has to kick some evil butt.  Never Let Go Website   The film is in theaters on Friday, September 20, 2024. 

Until Next Time!

Alien: Romulus

My View:  Alien: Romulus  (2024)  R  In Alien: Romulus, a group of young space colonizers travel to a derelict space station named Romulus to make some quick money stealing equipment. Little do they know they are about to come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. I am a huge fan of the first two films of the series, with the first scaring the crap out of me at a midnight showing that I saw while I was a college student. Since then, I haven’t been much of a fan. Alien: Romulus does something that was lacking in those editions: fear. This is a fun thrill ride with plenty of scares, filled with tension as a clock is set for us and the team of young space raiders as they try to get out of a situation that goes from bad to worse. The film takes place between the first and second films, with a group of young people going to raid a ship without any idea what they are getting into. And that’s one of the cool things. As an audience, we know what they are walking into right when we see what's inside the ship they are raiding. The film centers on Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her android sidekick Andy (David Jonsson), who has a few problems. Rain sees Andy as a brother rather than an android. That relationship is the key to the film, making the stakes higher as terror comes at them from every direction. The film excels in creating its own horror and providing us with a few Easter eggs from the past. There is a glaring weakness in the plot that I won’t go into (which is very apparent when you see it) that brings the film down a bit, but it’s not something that takes away from the overall experience. So get ready and remember: no one can hear you scream in space. But they can hear you scream in a theater.  My Rating: Full Price  Alien: Romulus Website    Now playing in theatres, including IMAX theaters.

My View:  Jackpot!  (2024)  R  Jackpot! takes place in 2030, as a Grand Lottery has been established in California with a giant payout. The only catch is that if you kill the winner (no guns allowed) before sundown, you can claim their prize. Katie (Awkwafina), an out-of-work actress, realizes that she is suddenly the winner and everyone is out to kill her. Her only hope of survival is amateur jackpot protector Noel (John Cena), but can Katie trust him? From the ton of footage accompanying the end credits, I am guessing that much of the film’s dialogue was improvised. While there are some funny scenes, the film feels as if an action film and a comedy film got together to make a movie, but only after each other had filmed their scenes separately. The film wastes the talents of Cena and Awkwafina, who try to right the ship many times, only to put in another action sequence that doesn’t work. I think the film could have done a better job if it had been darker and less slap-sticky. Jackpot! never finds a comic tone and pace to settle on, making it one long adventure to follow Katie around while people try to kill her. There is a bonus scene at the end of all the credits, if you make it that far.   My Rating: Cable  Jackpot! Website  Now playing on Amazon Prime. 

Indiefest: My Penguin Friend  (2024)  PG  My Penguin Friend is the story of a penguin rescued from an oil spill by a heartbroken fisherman, Joao (Jean Reno). Their friendship is so strong that 5,000 miles cannot separate them. Who doesn’t love penguins with their waddle and tuxedo look? Along comes a film about an unusual friendship between a penguin and a fisherman. Saved from near death, Joao, an old fisherman, against the odds, nurses the penguin back to health and is rewarded with a friend who follows him around like a puppy. But everything must come to an end, and one day, the penguin, now named Din Dim, goes back to the ocean and travels back to his breeding grounds, 5,000 miles away. However, what's 5,000 miles between friends? When it's time, Din Dim returns to Joao, and both his friend and the rest of the village are amazed. My Penguin Friend is a charming film that depicts the healing power of friendship and the benefits of showing kindness. Kids will fall in love with the little guy, and parents won’t mind the storyline (though it tries a little too hard to create some problems for the penguin to overcome). Hey, everyone needs a penguin best friend.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  My Penguin Friend Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  Close to You  (2023)  R  In Close to You, Sam (Elliot Page), a trans man, is coming back to his hometown for the first time in years. He will try to reconnect with his family, maybe reunite with his first love, and discover if the world can change or will things remain the same. Close to You, Elliot Page’s first film post-transition, is obviously a way for Elliot to express to the world some of his feelings about his life now and how people see him. The film’s strengths are the performances, especially Page and Hillary Baack, who plays Sam’s old high school best friend, Katharine. Their scenes together are some of the best parts in the film, as Katharine slowly and unsteadily deals with not only Sam’s new life but also the realization that they were each other’s first loves. As the film progresses, their encounters, which become longer, are about two people discovering what they had. We see them feel each other out, figuring out a connection they had forgotten. The film's execution is uneven, with some scenes (with most of the dialogue improvised) feeling choppy and not fully formed, often resulting in an abrupt conclusion to the scene. The film's momentum is lost in the scenes with the whole family because there are too many cooks at the fire. Still, Close to You hits a lot of right notes, and in the end, we feel that we have been on a journey in which Sam has learned a bit more about himself and how to find the happiness that his childhood never gave him.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Close to You Website   Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Union  (2024)  PG-13  In The Union, it has been twenty years since Mike (Mark Wahlberg), an ordinary construction worker, has seen his high school ex-girlfriend Roxanne (Halle Berry). Out of the blue, Roxanne returns to Mike’s life, and the girl he has always loved is back in his life. One problem: Roxanne is a member of The Union, a top-secret government agency that does the dirty work that the CIA doesn’t want to do, and she needs Mike’s help on a mission. Anything for love. Right, Mike? So let me get this straight: a highly trained secret organization that does the stuff that the CIA doesn’t want to do picks a guy like Mike, with absolutely no training, because he was once the boyfriend of one of your top operatives and is a good guy? That right there should tell you how bad the plot of The Union is. Boasting a cast that includes two Oscar-winning actors in Halle Berry and J. K. Simmons, three Oscar nominees in Mark Wahlberg, Jackie Earle Haley, and Lorraine Bracco, and two-time Prime-time Emmy winner Dana Delany, how could a film be this bad? By the way, what bet did Dana Delany lose to be cast in such a throwaway role as Mike's old schoolteacher, who he is sleeping with? Truthfully, I was so bored with the plot that I lost track of who had the list of operatives everyone wanted. It’s in a backpack, no, a briefcase, no, a phone, no wait, it’s back in a briefcase. The sequence where they try to train Mike in all that he needs to know how to be a spy is incredibly badly done, but hey, so is the rest of the film. The end of The Union is so abrupt and badly executed that it makes that training sequence look Oscar-worthy. By the way, there is more chemistry between Dana Delany, as the former teacher, and Mark than there is between Wahlberg and Berry. And guess what? Netflix wants to make two more of these films. That’s the reason they give that Mark and Roxanne never kiss in the film. They want us to leave wanting more. I just want to leave.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again. The Union Website  Now playing on Netflix.

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see in theatres but have seen recently):  Snack Shack  (2024)  R  Snack Shack takes place in the summer of 1991, when two best friends, A.J. (Conor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel Labelle), get the chance to run the swimming pool snack shack. In walks a new neighbor, Brooke (Mika Abdalla), who A.J. falls for at first sight. The small town pool and the two best friends will never be the same. It took me a bit to get into this film, as we are bombarded by the make-money schemes that A.J. and Moose are throwing out fast and furious at the beginning. Those scenes include betting at an off-track site across the highway from a zoo field trip from which they have escaped from without the school knowing. Once the idea of taking over a snack shack at a local community pool becomes their money maker (and it is), the film settles down to a fun and enjoyable coming-of-age film with a cast that hits all the right notes. Conor Sherry is just the right portion of geeky awkwardness with a bit of sexiness that you can see why Brooke instantly flirts with him. Mika Abdalla is the find of the movie as she steals every scene that she is in with great charisma and just the right amount of worldliness that her character exudes. Snack Shack is a fun film with some heart and hits a few tender moments as well. Just be warned, the guys smoke, drink (they brew their own beer), and constantly throw out a lot of profanity (sometimes spelled out in ketchup on the hot dogs they sell). So grab some sunscreen and jump in the pool. You’ll need a drink from the Snack Shack to cool down, and the guys will be ready to sell you one.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Snack Shack Website  Available for rent on most streaming services.

Forgotten Film:  We Were Soldiers  (2002)  R  The film tells the story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War in 1965. Newly arrived in Vietnam, Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) takes command of a battalion that is given the task of finding a group of North Vietnamese troops that attacked an army base. The army is unaware that the 400 men under Moore will soon be trapped by an army of 2,000 North Vietnamese. The film follows Moore and his men as they have to shift their objective from finding the enemy to defending a portion of the ground. The movie provides us with insight into the North Vietnamese, as we learn how the commander plans his attacks. We go back to the States to check on the well-being of the wives while their husbands are engaged in a war that America will soon hate. The outstanding cast includes Sam Elliot, Greg Kinnear, Chris Klein, Barry Pepper, Madeleine Stowe, Keri Russell, and Do’n Duro’ng. The film got lost at the box office, overshadowed by Black Hawk Down, but is an action film with some heart.  My Rating: Full Price  We Were Soldiers Info   The film is available to rent or buy on Amazon and Apple TV.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Alien: Romulus:  Offspring Application Team

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Transformers One (2024)  PG  The origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, who, when they were young, were friends who bonded like brothers. Little did they know the two would change the fate of Cybertron forever. I’m not a huge Transformers fan, but I do know that this film is based on a blend of the original toys, the first games, and the early cartoons. The voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne.  Tranformers One Website The film is in theaters nationwide on Friday, September 20, 2024. 

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Jackass Forever

My View: Jackass Forever   (2022) R   The Jackass gang is back for one last time of death-defying stunts that any normal person wouldn’t do, but we know that these guys aren’t normal. Ok, so I was never a fan of the TV series, but I did enjoy the last movie, Jackass 3D. I will tell you what I told the studio rep after seeing the film; despite my better judgment, I really thought this film was funny and fun to watch. Now I will warn you that this film is not for the squeamish, and you will see a whole heck of a lot of male full-frontal nudity. I think what makes this so much fun to watch, besides all the crazy, idiotic stunts, is the reactions of the rest of the gang when something horrible happens in a stunt. It's also the relief on their faces when they realize that that could be them tied down in a room covered in honey and salmon with a big live bear. The gang is led by Johnny Knoxville, who has the most fun watching his friends get creamed (no pun intended) by a stunt, as he is the instigator, often starting stunts on his own with a taser. Jackass Forever is undoubtedly the last one that Knoxville will do, as he is now over fifty and was very seriously hurt several times during the filming, including a stunt near the end of the film where I think he may have died for a few seconds. Most of the Jackass gang, which has added a few new recruits, look like they have been through several wars these past ten years since the last film, with the exception of Steve-O, who looks better now than he did in the previous movie, mainly because he has gotten off of drugs and alcohol. So, if you are brave, sit down and enjoy a bunch of people being tortured just for the fun of it. You will laugh, though you might be a little ashamed afterward.    My Rating: Full Price   Jackass Forever Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View:  Moonfall   (2022) PG-13   A mysterious force has knocked the moon from its orbit and is in a collision course with Earth. A former astronaut, Jo Fowler (Halle Berry), enlists a ragtag team (Patrick Wilson, John Bradley) to help her go on an impossible mission, leaving everything they love behind to try to save the Earth. The only problem, the moon isn’t what we think it is. Let me give you an example of how stupid this film is (or how stupid the filmmakers think we are). Halle Berry, a former astronaut, has become head of NASA (don’t ask how) and is now on a mission to save Earth. She states how she doesn’t know how much time they have to complete the mission before the world starts to send nukes to blow up the moon. Five minutes later, she states that ‘We have only ten minutes before they send the nukes.’ That is how well the plot of this film has been thought out. In fact, I bet a ten-year-old could come up with a better plot than this film has. Besides saving the Earth from disaster, all three leads have back stories where they are trying to repair their relationships with their loved ones. Patrick Wilson is a former astronaut whose life was destroyed after being blamed for a disastrous mission and now has a troubled teenager (Charlie Plummer) who goes on a joyride that turns into one of those car chases you see on TV. Berry is a single mom whose marriage has fallen apart, and John Bradley has never lived up to his mother’s expectations or his own. So while trying to save the Earth from certain destruction, they are still trying to fix their families. The plot has so many holes in it that you start going, ‘well, that would never happen, but ok, let's let that go.’ I will leave you with this. A central plot point is that they take a Space Shuttle, a spacecraft that hasn’t flown since 2011, and in 24 hours, it is launched in space. Oh, and it has graffiti on it.    My Rating: Cable   Moonfall Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Jockey (2021)   Jackson (Clifton Collins Jr.) has been a jockey for a long time, and the toll that it’s taking on his body is catching up to him. When Jackson learns that his longtime trainer (Molly Parker) has acquired what appears to be a championship horse, he knows this could be his last chance. Jackson’s failing body and a new hot jockey (Moises Arias) on the scene are throwing into question his ability to continue his lifelong passion. All he needs is one last ride. What would you do if your mind told you to keep going but your body couldn’t? This is what almost every professional athlete has to go through in their career. When do you hang it up? Jackson is a jockey who has had past success but struggles to keep riding due to mounting injuries, some of which could be life-threatening. Clifton Collins Jr. gives us a touching and meaningful performance of a man who loves what he does and doesn’t want to give it up. Jackson is supported by his trainer Ruth, played by the fabulous Molly Parker. Ruth, a longtime trainer, has bought a horse that she thinks could be a champion, and she wants her partner in crime, Jackson, to ride this horse to fame and glory. But Jackson has two secrets that are bringing him down. The new jockey in town, played by Moises Arias, says that he is his son, and Jackson is starting to suffer serious side effects from previous injuries that could stop his ability to ride. Clifton Collins Jr. is brilliant as Jackson, a man who has a good heart and is a standup guy but can’t admit that he needs to hang it up. If this was a bigger studio film or had more star power behind it, I would say that Collins Jr. would be getting an Academy Award nomination out of this role, but I just don’t think enough voters will see this smaller film. But you should.   My Rating: Full Price   Jockey Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: Sundown (2021) R   Neil and Alice (Tim Roth, Charlotte Gainsbourg) are with their family on vacation at a fancy resort in Mexico. When a family emergency cuts their trip short, the family’s tight-knit order is struck to its core when one family member refuses to go back, bringing long-simmering tensions to rise to the surface. I love a film that doesn’t spell anything out for you. This is a film that slowly reveals itself, letting you try to figure out what is going on with its characters and never giving you too much information (though almost everything is explained by the end of the movie). Sundown is a character study on how different people deal with a crisis. Roth gives us a man who seems always to be moving in slow motion and is one of very few words (I would love to know the total of his lines in the script are). I loved this film and how it slowly peels back the story to let us into Neil’s world. Neil is a man you will not like until maybe the end of the movie, and even then, you might still not like or understand him. But that’s ok; it’s still an interesting journey that we go on with him.    My Rating: Full Price   Sundown Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Indiefest: The Wolf and the Lion (2021) PG   After her grandfather’s death, 20-year-old Alma (Molly Kunz) decides to return to his cabin on a little island in the heart of the wilderness. While there, she rescues a wolf cub from certain death. While raising the cub on her own, a plane crashes nearby, and the only survivor is a new addition to Alma’s growing family, a lion cub who was destined for a zoo. This is a sweet, simple, and well-meaning tale that kids and animal lovers will enjoy, while the rest of us may become a little bored. The two cubs are adorable, and their interactions are the highlight of the film. Unfortunately, the film has a plot that is a bit dull and very predictable, with a bit of over handedness on the cruelties of caging wild animals for people’s entertainment. The film writes itself into a corner that it quite can’t get out of, and the ending to the film is unbelievable. Still, young children may be entertained by two very different wild animals interacting and enjoying each other’s company.   My Rating: Cable   The Wolf and the Lion Website   Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Book of Love (2022)   Young, uptight English writer Henry (Sam Claflin) has a novel that has been an absolute failure. Henry is startled to find out that his book is a massive hit in Mexico and is invited there to promote it. He soon discovers why his book is such a hit; his Spanish translator Maria (Verónica Echegui) has rewritten his book into an erotic romance novel. Consequently, Henry must go on a book tour with Maria, not knowing anything about a book he is supposed to be the author of. I was really looking forward to this film. I love rom-coms, and I have much love in my heart for Mexico, but I was a little disappointed in the movie. I loved the fact that about 1/3 of the film was in Spanish. I'm not too fond of films that make everyone speak English in a foreign land. I wish the film had done a better job of showing the beauty of Mexico, but I felt that the film never left their one location, except for a few shots of Mexico City. I wanted more sparks between Claflin and Echegui, both of which are very likable on screen but never entirely developed the chemistry and fire that we need to see to make this film work. It’s not a bad rom-com, but nothing that the Hallmark channel doesn’t put out on a weekly basis, and I wanted more.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Book of Love Website  Now playing on the Amazon Prime platform.

Indiefest: Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (2021)   Criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson draws a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States from the beginnings of slavery in this country to the modern myth of a post-racial America. I am a history buff and took a couple of courses in college on the Civil War, so I thought I knew a lot about slavery and its history in the United States until I saw this eye-opening and engaging documentary. It’s staggering and depressing how much I didn’t know about this country's history with slavery and just how much the country's history is taught, so one-sided. Robinson gives us the story of slavery and oppression in a well-thought-out discussion where he travels the country to interview people who have suffered and lost loved ones throughout the years. Robinson talks about the assignation of Martin Luther King, Jr. and how it was a tipping point fifty years ago. This is a sobering discussion on the subject of race in America and how we haven’t really progressed at all in the fifty years since the Civil Rights era. Please watch this documentary and then discuss it with your family and friends. Robinson lets us know that we are at another tipping point in our history, and this time we must not let it slide back down the hill. My Rating: Full Price    Who We Are Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: The Long Good Friday (1980) R   Harold (Bob Hoskins) is doing well as a gangster about to hit the big time. When bombs start exploding in inconvenient places, Harold realizes that a new syndicate is trying to muscle its way on his territory. The syndicate will learn very soon that Harold isn’t going to go down without a fight. Hopkins gives one of the best performances of his career as a short-tempered mob boss who deals with force with the only thing he knows, brutality. The Long Good Friday is a film about a man who will stop at nothing to protect his stake and not take anything lying down. It’s a marvelous film that is both brutal and, at times, almost breathtaking, with a powerful performance by an actor at the top of his game.    My Rating: Full Price   The Long Good Friday Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Moonfall: Splinter Unit Gaffer

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Outfit (2022) R  Leonard (Mark Rylance) is an English tailor who used to work on London’s Savile Row. After a personal tragedy, Leonard now makes his home in Chicago, in a part of town where only mobsters can afford his hand-crafted suits. All Leonard wants to do is be left alone to make clothes with his assistant (Zoey Deutch), but his life is about to get complicated when two killers show up on his shop’s doorstep. The Outfit looks like a good old-fashioned thriller with a great cast headlined by Mark Rylance.  The Outfit Website

Until Next Time!