Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until Next Time!

Shadow Force

My View:  Shadow Force  (2025)  R  In Shadow Force, Kyrah (Kerry Washington) and Issac (Omar Sy) were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called Shadow Force until they broke the rules by falling in love and going underground. Years later, they are living a normal life in suburbia with a son. However, their cover has been blown, and now they must take on the group they once worked for to protect their family. I was excited to see this film at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival because it starred the two-time Emmy-nominated actress for the amazing series Scandal and Omar Sy, who was brilliant in one of my favorite foreign films of the past 15 years, The Intouchables. Unfortunately, I came away incredibly disappointed, thinking this was the worst film that I saw at the film fest. I should have known that I would be let down because the film is directed and co-written by Joe Carnahan, who has given us Copshop, The A-Team, and Smokin’ Aces. And yes, I know he also gave us The Grey, which proves you get lucky every once in a while, but come on, that was all Liam Neeson, a lot of snow and a bunch of wolves. There wasn’t a bunch of snow or wolves to save this dreck of film, with a plot that had to be written in crayon and action sequences that were so badly shot I couldn’t tell what was happening. To tell you how bad it is the film, almost from the start, tells us how ruthless and bad the Shadow Force is that has set out to kill our heroes, but I have no clue how one of these legendary hitmen is killed in a final fight that feels rushed and such a letdown. Throughout the film, they make Kyrah this badass everyone is afraid of, but twice in the film, she is bested and held hostage, waiting to be saved by her husband. And when they let Kerry do action sequences where she has to fight in hand-to-hand combat, most of it is done in darkness, so we can’t tell it’s her. I needed a play-by-play announcement to tell me what was happening in one scene. The film tests your limits on how much we can believe, including when Kyrah unveils a supercar with bulletproof glass, reinforced walls, a pop-up gun turret, and, get this, a hidden compartment with a supped-up car seat that perfectly hits their son. Mark Strong, playing the leader of the Shadow Force, chews up scenery like it’s his last meal and gives the worst performance of his career. The script barely keeps itself together long enough for the action to happen, and if you can’t figure out who is on whose side, you haven’t watched enough bad TV shows. By the end of Shadow Force, I wanted the noise-canceling headphones that Kyrah and Issac keep giving their son to wear so he doesn’t know what is going on as the action goes on around him.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  Shadow Force Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Juliet & Romeo  (2025)   PG-13  Juliet & Romeo is a musical retelling of the most famous love story of all time, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We all know the story, having studied the play in high school and seen the many adaptations, including the Baz Luhrmann 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, that created a modern hip world of Shakespeare with the perfect casting of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. This is a retelling of the famous story, changing some significant aspects (I give away what), and while set in the 1300s, the cast sings a slew of modern songs to tell the story. The film features two relatively unknown actors in Danish actress/singer Clara Rugaard (Love Gets a Room (2021), Black Mirror) and Australian actor Jamie Ward (The Durrells), as the star-crossed lovers. The film uses songs to tell the story, with some songs only lasting a minute, all sung in a modern pop style. I loved the music of this film, and there are a couple of show stoppers, one early on when Juliet and Romeo see each other at a street party. There is also a wonderful song in the middle of the film where Juliet and Romeo meet secretly and go from room to room in a castle to evade others. The film is well done, and the musical sequences are bright, lovely to watch, and enjoyable. The film is filled with young, fairly unknown actors, but it does have Derek Jacobi as The Friar who aids our lovers, Rupert Everett as Lord Capulet, and Rebel Wilson as Lady Capulet. Dan Fogler plays the needed comic relief as The Apothecary. While this film is not aimed at a Shakespeare fan, it is aimed at the younger YouTube crowd that should have a great time with our two lovers. And don’t worry, that Shakespearian dialogue you had trouble with in 10th grade English class, it’s not used in this film.  My Rating: Full Price  Juliet & Romeo Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Clown in a Cornfield  (2025)  R  In Clown in a Cornfield, Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her father have moved to the small town of Kettle Springs, the once home of Baypen Corn Syrup Factory. It’s a town where the high school kids are counting down the days when they can leave, spending their time making prank videos and causing trouble. Their hi-jinks have awakened Frendo, the old clown mascot of the Syrup factory, and he is out to see that the kids are taught a lesson. A lesson that will end up in a grisly death or two. Filmmaker Eli Craig gave us one of my favorite horror/comedy films, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010). I was excited when I saw he was doing a take on the 80s/90s slasher films, with, of all things, a killer clown. I was expecting a fun time with a lot of humor and to play with a genre that needs to be tweaked. What I got was a film that has no idea what it is, other than it’s not fun. The storyline of teens rebelling and then getting killed because of it is a cliche as old as slasher films have been around. The problem is that the rebelling is rather weak, and the reason for the killing is even weaker. The scares are few and far between, the kills aren’t very creative, and the showdown between good and evil is one of the most unimaginative horror film endings I have seen. So much so that an hour after I have just seen the film, I couldn’t tell you exactly who dies and how. The best bit of the film is wasted in the trailer (it has to do with a rotary phone), and that’s the way I felt about the whole film. Clown in a Cornfield is one of those films where it seems all the creativity went into making the trailer and not the film itself.  My Rating: Cable  Clown in a Cornfield Website  The film is now in theaters. 

My View:  Nonnas  (2025)  PG  Nonnas is about Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn), who, after losing his mother, decides to open up a restaurant to honor her. His idea is to hire four Italian grandmothers, aka ‘Nonnas,’ as the chefs, using their authentic recipes. Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘too many chefs in the kitchen’? This might be the perfect example. Nonnas is a textbook ‘feel good’ film, and that’s okay. We all need a home-cooked meal from time to time to raise our spirits and feel positive about the world. Based on a true story (we get to see the authentic restaurant and the Nonnas in action during the closing credits), the film tells the story of Joe, who has just lost his mother after a battle with cancer and is looking for some way to spend the money he has inherited from her. He decides to open a restaurant to honor his mother, known for her incredible home-cooked Italian meals, including her magical ‘gravy’ (what we lay folk would call sauce). He recruits four ‘Nonnas’ to make the meals in the restaurant, having them use their own recipes. I’m not a huge Vince Vaughn fan, but he does an admirable job as the earnest Joe, who is a great guy who just wants to bring the feelings of happiness and family that he used to get at his mother’s home in those big get-togethers around mounds of pasta. The film shines because of the four Nonnas, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Brenda Vaccaro, who have 9 Oscar nominations between them. The four actresses are fun to watch, each with their own style, which makes this film work. It’s a joy to watch them have fun up on screen, even while the plot is rather simple. Joe Manganiello as Joe’s best friend, Bruno, Drea de Matteo as Bruno’s wife, and Linda Cardellini as Joe’s love interest round out the cast. Nonnas is warm and heartwarming and is guaranteed to make you want to have lasagna or any other pasta dish for dinner tonight. Sadly, you will have to travel to Staten Island to have the real thing.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Nonnas Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

My View:  Friendship  (2024)  R  Friendship is about Craig (Tim Robinson), an ordinary man living in the suburbs with his wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig’s world is changed when Austin (Paul Rudd), a local TV weatherman, moves into the neighborhood and invites Craig over to hand out with him and his pals. Things change when, after a few get-togethers, Austin tells Craig they ‘should go their separate ways.’ Craig then obsesses about how to get back in Austin’s good graces, and it won’t be pretty. Tim Robinson is an actor/writer who was a staff writer for Saturday Night Live before he created/wrote and acted in two comedy TV shows, Detroiters and the three-time Emmy award-winning I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, which is described by IMDB as a sketch show where Tim and his guests spend each segment driving someone to the point of desperately wanting to leave. I saw this film with a very excited crowd at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival. I will admit that while the rest of the audience was on the floor with laughter, I did not enjoy this film. I came away with the feeling that if this had been a sketch on his show, I would have found it funnier in that it would have been a short burst. I had a hard time following a character that I did not like, thought was a horrible person, and an idiot to boot. I had a hard time justifying the character as the man was in a long-term marriage and had a job of great responsibility, but he continually does stuff that comes out of nowhere that ruins everything, including his marriage, his job, and any relationship he has. There is a running gag with Paul Rudd that is funny the first time it’s revealed, but used repeatedly to keep the plot moving. From the reaction of the audience that I saw it with, if you are a fan of his shows, you will love Friendship. If not, then you might be like me when I left the theater, wondering why everyone thought it was a laugh fest. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Friendship Website Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Fight or Flight  (2024)  R  A disgraced former federal agent, Lucas (Josh Hartnett), has been living on the run for the past two years. His old boss (Katee Sackhoff) contacts him, who tells him that if he takes the job of finding a wanted terrorist and brings them back alive, Lucas can clear his name and get his life back. Just a few problems: the terrorist is only known as ‘Ghost,’ and no one knows what they look like, and Lucas has to get on an international flight, find Ghost, and bring them back alive. I had an absolute blast watching this film, with its very funny humor and almost non-stop close-quarter fighting. Hartnett is perfect as the alcoholic former agent who hates his old boss, but hates his life even more. Fight or Flight is a film that combines Bullet Train with lots of Jackie Chan movies, a dash of John Wick, and then throw in a bit of Snakes on a Plane. The action is fast, funny, and full of surprises. Hartnett does a great job in the fight sequences, and Charithra Chandran, as a surly fight attendant, brings some great chemistry to the screen with Hartnett. Expect lots of broken bones, blood, and some very imaginative deaths while Lucas tries to survive on a ten-hour flight with a killer or two on board. And on this flight, you might want to double-check your seat belt and make sure that your tray is upright and handy. You might need it to help you survive to your destination. Plus, any film that has a soundtrack starting right from the start with Lesley Gore, has a fight sequence to Elvis Costello, and ends with the Clash, is a film I want to see.  My Rating: Full Price  Fight or Flight Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  Magic Farm  (2025)   In Magic Farm, an American documentary crew is on its way to interview a musician in rural Argentina but ends up in the wrong town. With the locals’ help, they decide to fake a new music trend. They had no idea what they were getting into. Magic Farm is a messy and strange film that starts out with a bizarre point of view from above, watching a person on a motor scooter going down a road. That sums up this film, as it is a little strange, often showing the point of view of dogs for what seems like no reason. The film is about a group of misfit documentary filmmakers, including the host, Edna, played by Chloë Sevigny. Edna is in an unhappy marriage to Dave (Simon Rex), who is the producer of the film, and as soon as they arrive in Argentina, he takes off to go back to New York. Edna and the crew are left in a tiny town, and the story they were going to cover isn’t there. The film is just a slice of life of these crew members as they interact with the townspeople, who are happy to have them in their small town. Magic Farm is satire with a slender plot that meanders through the story, but nothing comes of it other than that we like a few of the crew and the rest we hate. The irony of the film is that the documentary crew, having no story to cover, make up one while all the while, there is a major story right under their noses that they never see, too caught up in their own problems. I came away from this film just like the doc crew, I was given a story that had something right there that the writer/director Amalia Ulman couldn’t see and instead was given a film that was too haphazard to make any sense.  I saw this film at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival.   My Rating: Cable  Magic Farm Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Forgotten Film:  Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)  A bored New Jersey housewife, Roberta (Rosanna Arquette), is fascinated by the free-wheeling life of a woman named Susan (Madonna), whose life she follows in the Personal ads in the paper. When she goes to catch a glimpse of Susan meeting a boyfriend, Roberta is swept up in a whirlwind of mistaken identities, mob hits, and stolen artifacts. Directed by Susan Seidelman, this is a funny rom-com that made big box office because of Madonna’s first major film role, who was just starting out as one of the world’s biggest pop stars. This movie made Rosanna Arquette a film star (she mainly had appeared on TV shows and made for TV movies at this point of her career) but it’s Madonna that steals the movie. Besides her song “Into the Groove”, which became a massive hit on MTV with scenes from the movie, Madonna is perfect as Susan, a woman who is crossing the country, leaving men she has slept with and stolen from without a thought. Seidelman picked Madonna over Melanie Griffith, Ellen Barkin, and Jennifer Jason Leigh because she wanted someone to be natural on screen and look like she would wear the costumes that Susan wore on screen. The great fun of this film is watching all the artists and soon-to-be-famous actors who have roles in it. This is the first major film role for both Laurie Metcalf and Steven Wright. Metcalf steals several scenes in her role as Mark Blum’s character’s sister, who is married to Roberta. Other notable cast members include Carol Leifer, punk legend Richard Hell, Rockets Redglare, Ann Magnuson, John Lurie, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, and Robert Joy. The film captures the music scene in NYC in the early 80s, allowing us to see New York before its revitalization. Aidan Quinn, as the romantic lead, is fantastic as Dez, a man who gets involved with Roberta, thinking that she is Susan. So go on a wacky journey with Madonna as a woman who has style enough to carry a film without being the lead. My Rating: Full Price  Desperately Seeking Susan Info  I saw the film at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival with director Susan Seidelman in attendance.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Fight or Flight: Drapery Leadman

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life  (2024)  R  Agathe (Camille Rutherford) is a Jane Austen fanatic who works at the world-famous Paris bookstore Shakespeare & Co. Agathe is lonely and unlucky in love, always complaining about her lack of love life. When Agathe suddenly receives a Jane Austen writing residency, she meets a fellow writer (Charlie Anson) and now must choose between a writing career or her love life. Having just seen the 20th-anniversary screening of one of my favorite films, Pride & Prejudice (2005), I want to see this film.  Jane Austen Wrecked My Life Website  Opens in select cities on Friday, May 23, 2025.

Until Next Time!