Freakier Friday

My View:  Freakier Friday  (2025)  PG  Freakier Friday takes place twenty-two years after Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna (Lindsay Lohan) had the body swap that changed their lives. Tess is now trying to support her daughter Anna as she merges two families. Anna is about to marry Eric (Manny Jacinto) and is trying to encourage her daughter, Harper (Julia Butters), to get along with her soon-to-be stepsister, Lily (Sophia Hammons). It turns out that Tess and Anna aren’t the only ones capable of switching bodies. In 2003, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan made a Disney film about a mother-daughter duo switching bodies. Lohan proved she had some acting chops, and Curtis stole the movie as the teen inside a 30-something body. So it’s 22 years later, and we get to see if magic can happen again. While not quite up to the 2003 Freaky Friday film, it is still a fun ride, this time watching four body switches rather than just two. I think what helps is that in this film, we get Anna’s daughter Harper, a very unhappy, rebellious teen, and Anna’s soon-to-be step-daughter, an equally unhappy British teen, Lily, who wants to get back to London, also to be in on the body switch fun. As with the first film, Jamie Lee gets to do more of the comedy, as Lily has taken over her body, and once again, Curtis is an older woman with the mind and vantage point of a teen. As with the first film, Lohan is a little more reserved of the two, as her granddaughter has taken her over. The two unhappy teens decide to take advantage of their new adulthood and sabotage/stop the marriage of their two parents. Like the first film, Chad Michael Murray is brilliant as the hot guy who still has a crush on the older woman in Tess. Fans of the 2003 film will love this film, and even if you haven’t seen that film, you will have a good time watching Lohan and Curtis have a blast as teens unleashed. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Freakier Friday Website   Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Weapons  (2025) R  Weapons begins one morning, when at 2:17 am, every child except one from Mrs. Gandy’s class woke up and left their homes, never to be seen again. What happened to the seventeen children, and how can a community discover their fate? Weapons is a horror film that is equally disturbing and funny. I was expecting far more scares (and there are still plenty), but I wasn’t expecting the humor, which took me for a ride. I saw the film with a packed audience, and one moment they were laughing and in the next they were shrieking from fear. I can’t give away too much of the plot because the reveals are so well thought out and brilliant that I don’t want to spoil it for you. From the first moments when we see the kids in the dead of night leaving their homes and running with their arms out behind them while George Harrison’s song “Beware of Darkness’ is playing, to the hectic and shocking ending, this is a masterful tale of horror, suspense, intrigue about a group of people in a small town trying to make sense of a mystery they can’t cope with. The film features remarkable performances, particularly from Josh Brolin, who portrays a father grappling with the disappearance of his son, and Julia Garner, who plays the troubled teacher of the classroom attended by the 17 missing students. Weapons is an exhilarating ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly anticipating each reveal and shocked by the unexpected twists. It is a strong contender for horror film of the year and is a movie that will spark discussions not just in the parking lot, but for years to come.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Weapons Website Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  The Pickup  (2025) R   In The Pickup, Russell (Eddie Murphy) is about to retire as an armored truck driver when he is matched with Travis (Pete Davidson). They are ambushed by a ruthless gang of criminals led by a savvy mastermind, Zoe (Keke Palmer), who has plans that extend far beyond the contents of the truck. When I watched the credits, I was surprised that there were only two writers credited because I could have sworn that this was a film that either had fifteen writers throwing everything they could against the wall to see what stuck, or it was the first feature film solely written by AI. This unfunny buddy action comedy has so many plot holes I was wondering how the script would get our two heroes out of hot water in the end. It doesn’t, and like the rest of the film, it forgets any ability for common sense and throws a happy ending at you that seems so sudden and poorly conceived that I almost had whiplash from it. The Pickup is one of those films where all three bad guys somehow survive a couple of horrendous vehicle crashes, but it doesn’t give us a clue how they survived. Just accept that all three get away with minor scratches. There are only two action sequences and one caper. The rest of the film is the characters talking. And they just keep talking, filling up lots of time without humor (unless you think Travis playing the Neutron Dance song from Beverly Hills Cop is funny) and wasting the talents of Murphy and Palmer. The lack of chemistry between Murphy and Davidson is palpable, and their banter grows tiresome very quickly. And please, someone, wake up Eddie Murphy; he has another line to deliver before the credits roll!  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  The Pickup Website  Now playing on the Amazon Prime

Familyfaire:  Sketch  (2024) PG  Sketch follows a young girl named Amber (Bianca Belle) who accidentally drops her sketchbook into a mysterious pond. The drawings she created suddenly come to life, wreaking havoc in her town. Now, Amber, along with her brother and a ‘butthead’ of a friend, must confront these creatures that were never meant to exist and save their families and the beloved town. Amber is a young girl who is angry and sad because of the death of her mother and her father’s inability to deal with the death. So Amber, on the advice of a school counselor, she channels her anger and loss into drawings in a sketchbook. The problem is now the drawings have come to life, and most are of horrible creatures that want to wreak havoc. Sketch is a wonderfully creative film that teaches kids about how to deal with their feelings and how to channel those emotions. Anchored by an outstanding cast and creative animation, the story is a heartfelt adventure in how kids see the world and react in different ways to grief and pent-up feelings. Bianca Bell is outstanding as Amber, who can’t believe that her drawings have come to life. Tony Hale excels as the father trying his best to connect with his children, only that his attempts at reaching his kids doesn’t always work the way he wants it to. While some of the creatures are a little scary, most will be enjoyable to kids to see as they are right off the pages of a child’s imagination. Sketch is a fun and meaningful film full of surprises, revealing heroes in unexpected places. Every kid fantasizes about being a hero and saving their family from creatures, and in Sketch, they do.  My Rating: Full Price   Sketch Website Now playing in theaters. 

Familyfaire:  Hola Frida  (2024)   Hola Frida is about a little girl named Frida Kahlo who sees life in vibrant colors. When life’s trials and tribulations come her way, she faces them with her spirit and her overflowing imagination. Hola Frida is a film that children will enjoy with vivid animation and a story that centers around a child who uses her imagination to create an imaginary self that she uses to escape the problems that Frida encounters. The film explores Frida’s troubled childhood, when she got polio and was teased for her weaker leg, but Frida always found a way to overcome her obstacles and persevere. Frida was a young girl who fought for her artistic ideals and became one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Hola Frida offers young viewers a magical glimpse into her early years and the many challenges she overcame.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Hola Frida Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Indiefest:  My Mother’s Wedding  (2023)  R  In My Mother’s Wedding, three sisters (Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham) return home to attend their twice-widowed mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) third wedding. The sisters struggle to understand their mother’s decision to marry again. As they navigate this unusual situation, the family is compelled to revisit their pasts and confront their future, aided by some unexpected wedding guests. My Mother’s Wedding is one of those films that has a dynamic cast, an interesting plot core, and one excellent speech, but the sum of its parts does not make up a good movie. The humor is somewhat forced and doesn't find an emotional center, which causes some of the hard-hitting moments to feel flat and lack any impact. The film centers mostly on Katherine, who is a Navy officer about to be given the promotion of a lifetime. Still, she can’t commit to her longtime companion (played by the always lovely Frida Pinto) and has trouble connecting with her son. Throughout the film, we see snippets of her childhood in black and white animation, as Katherine struggles with her mother’s wedding while thinking about the two fathers that she lost. I had a hard time connecting with each of the sisters, and I didn't figure out who was whose father until near the end of the film. There is a lovely moment near the end of the film when Kristen Scott Thomas’s character gives an impassioned speech to her daughters to grow up and quit idolizing their long-dead fathers. Thomas, who wrote the script based loosely on her life (both her father and stepfather died serving in the British Naval Air Force) and directed the film, gave herself the best scene in the movie. I wish she had written more compelling roles for the other three actors playing the daughters. My Rating: Cable  My Mother's Wedding Website Now playing in theaters. 

Forgotten Film: The War of the Roses  (1989) R  Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara (Kathleen Turner) are seemingly the perfect couple, with two grown kids, a beautiful house, and lots of money. Barbara has been the ideal housewife and mother, but now that the kids are out of the house, Barbara realizes she has been under Oliver’s shadow too long and decides that she wants a divorce. Things are about to get ugly. Directed by Danny DeVito, The War of the Roses is a black comedy that pushes the boundaries of violence and outrageousness to extremes, resulting with a hilarious chaotic outcome. Turner and Douglas were at the top of their game and are willing to go all out in the physical comedy that starts slowly and escalates to an all-out war where any object that means something to the other person is fair game to be thrown or destroyed. It is an amazing piece of acting and storytelling, where you end up hating both spouses and loving every minute of their battle for the house.   My Rating: Full Price  The War of the Roses Info  Available for rent/buy on Amazon.   

Weird Credits: From the credits of Sketch: Caption and Language Strategist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Roses  (2025)  R  Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman) are a married couple with a beautiful house and two kids. Ivy is an incredibly successful chef whose stamp on the world is getting bigger. Theo is an architect who has lost his job and is unhappy in his marriage. Theo decides he wants a divorce, and the war between the couple is on. The Roses is a loose remake of the 1989 film The War of the Roses. The Roses Website     The film will be in theaters nationwide on Friday, August 29, 2025. 

Until Next Time! 

Better Man

My View:  Better Man  (2024) R    Better Man tells the true story of Robbie Williams, who dreamed at a young age that he would become a world-famous pop star. We follow Robbie as his meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and then dramatic resurgence as a British pop superstar plays out before our eyes. So, looking at the poster from the film, you can see that Robbie Williams is portrayed by a chimpanzee, done with CGI and using actor Jonno Davies in the role, including speaking the lines, with Williams doing most of the voice-over narration. Yes, it takes a few minutes to get used to this take on a musical (humans portray all the other characters), but I enjoyed it after a while. It helped with Robbie becoming part of a boy band, and I didn’t have to keep searching for him among all the other guys that looked like him. There are a couple of breathtaking songs in the film, including a spectacular musical number that takes place on Regent Street, one of the most famous streets in all of England. The film was problematic for me in two ways. One is here in the States; Williams isn’t very well known, except for his song Millennium (the video was a take-off of James Bond films); he never became the big star that he is in England and Europe. So, I never knew if a song was an original song made for the film or if it was one of his hits. Secondly, the film becomes overindulgent, with Robbie constantly fighting himself and always being confronted by images of himself telling him that he is not good enough to be a star. Better Man all comes to a head near the end of the film, in a sequence that should have been the big triumphant scene, but instead, Robbie fights all his past selves. It takes a long time to get to that point, and you would think that would be the end, but instead, we get a last song that, while fans of Willams will know is part of his repertoire; it just doesn’t fit the rest of the film. Better Man is a film that starts with a gimmick that you forget is there for a bit but keeps hitting you over the head with it, and that is just too much for someone who isn’t a Robbie Williams fan like me.  My Rating; Bargain Matinee  Better Man Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Last Showgirl  (2024)  R   In The Last Showgirl, Shelly (Pamela Anderson) has been a part of a Las Vegas revue show for over 20 years. Shelly has given up everything to be a part of the show; it is part of her life, and suddenly, she is told that in two weeks, the show will close forever. Director Gia Coppola knew what she had in Pamela Anderson, someone we all love but who has a limited dramatic range. So Coppola went out and got a powerful supporting cast, including Dave Bautista, as the stage manager and former lover of Shelly, Brenda Strong, and Kiernan Shipka as two of Shelly’s showgirl pals, Billie Lourd as Shelly’s daughter, and Jamie Lee Curtis as an over the hill showgirl, now waitress, who is Shelly’s best friend. Coppola often lets the supporting cast do the heavy lifting in scenes and lets Anderson sit back and react. The Last Showgirl is a movie that probably would have been a successful short film because the storyline is incredibly weak and has a hard time even filling its short 85-minute run time. We get a lot of scenes of Anderson on Vegas casino rooftops looking out over the Las Vegas skyline or practicing her dance moves for her attempt to get a job in another Vegas show. Every scene where Anderson is asked to create emotion on screen seems forced. It’s telling that the scene that I came away remembering the most from this film was when Jamie Lee Curtis decides to quit another waitress job and dance on the casino floor for herself and no one else. Jamie Lee gives us a magical and memorable scene. It’s too bad it wasn’t Anderson doing the scene.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Last Showgirl Website  Now playing in the theaters. 

Indiefest:  Nickel Boys  (2024) PG-13   Nickel Boys tells the story of Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), two Black teenagers sent to the Nickel Academy in Florida after being accused of crimes they did not commit. To survive the horrors of school in the Jim Crow era South, the boys will need to rely on their friendship. Nickel Boys is an amazing film where we see the world through the eyes of Elwood in the first half of the film. The camera shows us what he is seeing, whether it is the curtains that Elwood’s grandmother is ironing, seen from the floor up as Elwood is under the ironing board, or as an adult when Elwood hitches a ride in a car that turns out is stolen. Elwood is sent to Nickel Academy deep in the Jim Crow South, where his life will depend on his wits and the friend that he makes in Turner, a fellow teen stuck in this horrible place like Elwood. For some, this film will confound you with its point of view, camera work, and editing, where we go back and forth to different time periods in Elwood’s life, often making you feel unsettled. About halfway through the film, this point of view shifts, but I won’t ruin the reason for you. It’s an amazing part in the film and makes the second half take off. Part thriller, part mystery, Nickel Boys is a groundbreaking film that creates a unique look at how to tell a story. If you can make it through the first 30 minutes of the film and feel comfortable going on, you will be rewarded with a film that will make you wonder how director RaMell Ross was able to create such a powerful and moving film that breaks a lot of conventional filmmaking rules.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Nickel Boys Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Indiefest:  Hard Truths  (2024) R  Hard Truths is about Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a woman who is depressed and angry at the world. Pansy finds offense in almost every situation and is always on the verge of flying off the handle. She has alienated her husband Curtley (David Webber) and her adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), who don’t dare say anything to her for fear of her reacting with rage. Pansy’s only person she can talk to is her sister, Chantal (Michele Austin), a person who sees good in everyone. However, even Chantal has a breaking point, and Pansy may find herself alone in dealing with the world. The film is centered on the performance of Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who portrays Pansy as a woman who is mad at the world and would rather spend her time in bed than be out in the world surrounded by fools. However, while Pansy might hate the world, she needs to feel loved, which is a key to her character that we see develop throughout the film. Hard Truths is a film where a performance transcends the storyline. It’s not an easy film to watch because Pansy is not an easy person to be around. Marianne Jean-Baptiste is a fireball on the screen, giving us a woman who has an opinion on everything and everybody, and who sees a world that is out to get her, so she fights back at every turn. I can’t imagine the energy that it took to do this performance, but it’s to Jean-Baptiste’s credit that we stick with the film until the end when everything comes to a head. Marianne Jean-Baptiste's full range is seen in a scene near the end of the film, and it's a marvel to experience.   My Rating: Full Price  Hard Truths Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Shaft in Africa  (1973)  R  P.I. John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) is recruited to go to Africa and infiltrate a modern slavery ring that is sending young Africans to work on chain gangs in Europe. Shaft came out in 1971 and was an enormous hit. Now Shaft has one of the greatest opening title sequences with that incredible song by Isaac Hayes, but its plot is pretty weak, depending mostly on the star power of Roundtree to carry it off, with a lot of talking and minimal action. I think Shaft in Africa is the best of the three Shaft films of the early 70s. I love how they made Shaft a James Bond-like character, with even a few cool Bond-like gadgets. The film has a ton of action scenes and some cool hand-to-hand fights, plus a plot that moves pretty quickly once Shaft gets to Africa. The film's Ethiopian setting is utilized to its fullest potential, and Roundtree still possesses that star power.  My Rating: Full Price  Shaft in Africa Info The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon and Apple TV.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Better Man:  Rushes Runner

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Captain America: Brave New World  (2025)  Following the election of Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) as President of the United States, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who now holds the mantle of Captain America, finds himself at the center of an international incident and must work to stop the true masterminds behind it. This film is part of the Phase Five of the MCU.  Captain America: Brave New World Website   The film is in theaters on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Until Next Time!

Halloween Ends

My View: Halloween Ends (2022) R Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) has finally found peace and put the whole specter of Michael Myers behind her. When a young man, Corey (Rohan Campbell), is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, igniting a cascade of violence and terror that can only be the work of one person…Michael. I am a huge fan of the 1978 original film, and I loved the 2018 film where Laurie and Michael square up once again. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t even come close to the magic of those films. Michael Myers is almost a side-piece character in this film, as the movie centers on Corey, a young man troubled by a past that the town won’t let him forget. The film is taken down from the start by the romance between Laurie’s granddaughter (Andi Matichak) and Corey, who she sees as a fellow soul hounded by their past. Their meetup is painfully set up, and the attraction is there from the moment they lock eyes, just like a rom-com (which it most definitely isn’t). The film has a bunch of killings, but they are neither imaginative nor scary, and it has an ending that is jaw-droppingly bad. I hope Jamie Lee got a big check and stands by her statement that this is the last Halloween film she will do. Halloween Ends? Yes, please end it.  My Rating: Cable   Halloween Ends Website Now playing in theatres nationwide and on the Peacock platform.

My View: Till (2022)  PG-13 In 1955 Emmett Till, while he was visiting relatives, was murdered in a brutal lynching in Mississippi. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler), vowed to show the world what they did to her son and, in doing so, undoubtedly changed a nation. The film centers around Mamie, the mother of Emmett, who made some incredibly hard choices and decided to let the world see what evil did to her beautiful son. Danielle Deadwyler gives us a powerful and multi-faceted performance that is heartbreaking to watch, giving us a woman whose life and love have been destroyed by men who wanted to show how above the law they thought they were. The scene where Mamie meets Emmett’s coffin at the train station is gut-wrenching, making it the most moving part of the film. The movie does a great job of letting us see the horrific results of Emmett’s torture without letting it overpower the story of one woman standing up to the horrors of the world. Till is Mamie’s story and Danielle Deadwyler gives us a performance worthy of her character and what she stood for.   My Rating: Full Price   Till Website   Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Rosaline (2022) PG-13  Rosaline is a comedic retelling of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ told from the point of view of Romeo’s jilted ex, Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever). Rosaline was the woman Romeo first claimed to love before he dumped her for Juliet, and Rosaline isn’t too happy about it. This is a fun romp of a film, where the characters are in Shakespeare’s time but talk and act like they are living among us now. There is an amusing scene at the beginning of the film, where Romeo is courting Rosaline on a balcony, of course, and starts spouting off Shakespearian lines. Rosaline looks at him like he is an idiot and asks him what the heck he is saying. Kaitlyn Dever is perfect in the role of Rosaline, who loses her love, Romeo, to Juliet and then tries to scheme ways to get him back. The film rambles on a bit, but Dever is a blast to watch in this role, making it a joy to watch.   My Rating: Full Price   Rosaline Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

Indiefest: Stars at Noon (2022) R  Stars at Noon takes place in 1984 Nicaragua, where an English businessman (Joe Alwyn) and an American journalist (Margaret Qualley) meet at a bar and start a passionate romance. Be careful who you fall into bed with. It could get you into a dangerous labyrinth of lies, murder, and conspiracies you might never escape. With two main characters you don’t like, a plot that gets more confusing and convoluted as it goes along, almost no chemistry between its two leads, and you get a film that seems to go on forever and still get nowhere. You never can figure out what the Englishman is up to (I don’t even know if he has a name), and you don’t like the American journalist (to call her a journalist is pushing it) from the start, so it’s hard to root for these two lost people who don’t seem to belong to anyone or anywhere.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Stars at Noon Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Familyfaire: The Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022) TV-14  Sydney (Priah Ferguson) and her family move to a new town that takes Halloween very seriously. Unfortunately, Sydney has accidentally released an ancient curse that causes all the decorations to come alive in the town. It’s up to Sydney to save the town, but she will need help from the last person she wants to team up with, her dad (Marlon Wayans). This is just a fun, goofy, sometimes stupid, and enjoyable family film that will have the kids watching for the monsters and the silly jokes. The plot is predictable; some of the come-to-life monsters are enjoyable to watch, and the film moves along at a brisk pace. Nothing is too scary, and as you would think, Marlon makes a lot of wisecracks and outlandish reactions in the movie. Priah Ferguson is fun to watch, especially when she is battling some of the monsters, but this is a film you will see once and soon forget.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Curse of Bridge Hollow Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest: Tár (2022) R Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and has recently become the first-ever female chief conductor of a major orchestra, but Lydia’s world is about to come crashing down around her, and there may not be anything she can do to stop it. Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and has recently become the first-ever female chief conductor of a major orchestra, but Lydia’s world is about to come crashing down around her, and there may not be anything she can do to stop it. Blanchett gives a tour de force performance as the talented but flawed Lydia Tar, a woman so sure of herself that she doesn’t see her downfall coming. It’s a masterful performance in which Blanchett speaks several languages without a hitch, plays the piano, and even sings while accompanying herself on an accordion. This is the story of someone who believes that they can get away with just about anything because they are talented and gifted, even when their world is crumbling around them. Tar is a classical music fan’s dream, giving you an inside look at how an orchestra works under a conductor and the power that they possess. Equally impressive is the use of the camera. There is a remarkable sequence where Lydia is teaching a class at Julliard, and the camera seems to follow her around effortlessly as she puts a student in his place, giving us a lecture that encompasses everything from music to race relations. Lydia is not a person you will like; in fact, by the end of the film, you will probably despise her and probably revel in her downfall. You will also be reveling in the performance of Blanchett, something that we will be talking about for a long time.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again    Tar Website  Now playing in select theatres.

Forgotten Film: Running on Empty (1988) PG-13 The Popes (Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch) are a married couple who have been on the run since the 1960s when as part of a radical group, they blew up a building that, unknown to them at the time, had a janitor inside. They have raised their son, Danny (River Phoenix), by changing towns every few years, using their fake names, and always being careful never to stand out. Danny, though has a talent. He is a gifted piano player, and a local high school teacher gets him a scholarship to Juilliard. Now the Popes must decide; should they go back on the run or let Danny tell everyone who he is and get the future he deserves? Running on Empty is a beautiful and moving film directed by five-time nominated Sidney Lumet and has an outstanding supporting cast, including Martha Plimpton, who plays Danny’s girlfriend, L.M. Kit Carson as a former radical partner of the Popes and Steven Hill as the long-estranged grandfather of Danny’s. River Phoenix gives a powerful performance as the kid who has never known a future that didn’t involve lying and running and now must decide to stick with his parents or go on his own. The late River Phoenix got his only Oscar nomination for this role, and it’s a great one.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Running on Empty Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Till: Rigging Medic

Coming Soon to Screen Near You: The Fabelmans (2022) PG-13 Growing up in post-World War II Arizona, Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) begins making home movies and learns how the power of film can help us see the truth about each other and ourselves. The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg’s film about how he fell in love with movies. The cast includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch.  The Fabelmans Website  The film will open in theatres in late November. 

Until Next Time!

Halloween

My View:  Halloween  (2018) R Michael Myers comes back to get revenge on Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) four decades after their first confrontation. Let me say first off that Jamie Lee Curtis gives one heck of a performance, giving the role everything she has. This is a sequel to the 1978 original film, it’s if all the other Halloween movies didn’t happen. So Michael has been locked up in a mental institution for the past 40 years. Laurie has been obsessed with Michael, convinced that he will come back for her and she wants to make sure she is ready. Laurie became obsessed with Michael has cost Laurie her family, her marriage broke up, her daughter taken away by child services when Laurie’s daughter was twelve. What I loved about this film is it captures the essence of the first film. The film continually references the first film both visually and in the storyline. The audience that I saw it with, thoroughly enjoyed the movie, continuously screaming throughout the film and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. I will say that this is different from the first film, the body count is high (only five people died in the first film) and extraordinarily bloody and violent. Lovers of the original will have a great time as Michael and Laurie battle it out once again.  My Rating: Full Price   Halloween Website

Indiefest:  The Guilty  (2018)  R  A police officer (Jakob Cedergren) is assigned alarm dispatch duty when he gets a call from a kidnapped woman. This tense thriller that has plenty of twists and turns, some of which I didn’t see coming and a plot that moves at a quick pace. The cool thing about this film is that it takes place all on the phone as the police officer attempts to track down the kidnapper and keep the kidnapped woman calm and alive. What starts out as an ordinary and boring night of answering and dealing belligerent, drunk callers turns into a night fraught with tension that continues to build as the film moves along. This Danish film that is their entry for the Foreign Film Academy Award competition is a riveting film that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  My Rating:  Full Price    The Guilty Info

In Case You Missed It (A movie just released on DVD/Blu-Ray):  Eighth Grade (2018) R  Kayla (Elsie Fisher) is all about blending into the woodwork so that she doesn’t stand out. All Kayla wants to do is survive the last week of the eighth grade so she can start high school on a clean slate. Life has decided that Kayla should come out of the shadows. Kayla decides to give advice on how to navigate life through a series of YouTube videos. I loved this film, and Elsie Fisher is a delight to watch on screen. Her performance is heartfelt and beautiful and writer/director Bo Burnham treats her with a loving touch. The film is filled with beautiful moments about an awkward kid trying just to survive one last week of school. This is a film that everyone will enjoy going into the last week of eighth grade with Kayla.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Eighth Grade Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):   Johnny English Strikes Again  (2018) PG  After a cyber attack exposes all of the undercover agents in Britain, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) comes out of retirement to find the hackers and bring them down. I have stated before I don’t get Rowan Atkinson’s style of comedy and I can’t believe they have now made three of these films. This one is not for me.    Johnny English Strikes Again Website

Forgotten Film:  Lymelife  (2009)  R  The story of two families in the 1970s that are struggling to stay together as seen through the eyes of two fifteen-year-old kids, Scott (Rory Culkin) and Adrianna (Emma Roberts). Charlie (Timothy Hutton) has Lyme disease, his wife, Melissa (Cynthia Nixon) is having an affair with their neighbor, Mickey (Alex Baldwin), whose wife, Brenda (Jill Hennessy) knows about the affair. The characters are complex and the acting, especially Hutton and Culkin, who give some of their best performances of their careers. This is a sad, sensitive film that sometimes delves in comedy.   My Rating: Full Price    LymeLife Info

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Halloween:  Prosthetics Lifecasting

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Overlord  (2018)  R  Two American soldiers find themselves behind enemy lines on D Day. It appears that the Nazi’s have been up to some very evil experiments. The trailer looks really scary, and it’s being produced by J.J. Abrams.   Overlord Website

Until Next Time!