The Odyssey

My View:  The Odyssey  (2026)  R  The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, who goes on a long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War and his encounters with mythical beings as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), before Penelope succumbs to a nefarious suitor, Antinous (Robert Pattinson). Christopher Nolan is one of our best and most prolific filmmakers today. I mean, who else could get people to buy IMAX tickets a year before the film is released, without seeing a trailer or even footage? First, go see this film in a theater; the bigger the better. You may not be one of the lucky ones who live near an IMAX that is showing the movie on IMAX film (there are only 24 IMAX theaters in the US that are), at least see it in a theater that is showing it with 70 mm digital, or if you are lucky, a theater showing it on 70mm film. Do not wait to see this film on a computer or home screen. You need to see this film in a theater where the screen and its cinematography can immerse you in a world that is part horror, part fantasy, and a fantastic, mind-blowing epic journey. While this isn’t a full-out horror film, it has a cyclops that tears off men’s heads, giant armored men that can throw a man off his feet, and a witch that tricks men into eating unspeakable things, dragon-like monsters, sirens that can drive a man mad with their songs, plus numerous bloody battles that are incredibly violent. However, this is the story of Odysseus, a man who so believes in himself and his abilities that he can defy the Gods and make his own way home without their help. Odysseus is a man driven to return home but burdened by his past and his doubts about his ability to get back. He is a man who thinks he can’t be defeated and believes he is almost God-like, but because of this, he is prone to making very human mistakes, some of which he seems never to learn from. Nolan does a masterful job of turning a complex, long tale into a story. I suspect some will be scared off by the three-hour runtime, but the film moves at a pace that keeps the adventures of Odysseus and his men moving from one roadblock to another. The highlight of the film is the Trojan Horse portion (which surprised me by not being at the beginning of the film but about a third of the way in), which Nolan shows us with incredible flair and tension-building. Nolan also gets the most out of his cast, with Matt Damon carrying most of the heavy load of the hero of the story with energy and bravado. Tom Holland does a brilliant job as Odysseus’s son Telemachus, who is left behind by Odysseus when he was a baby and keeps the faith that his father will return to his rightful place as king. Robert Pattinson is perfect as the weasel Antinous, a man who plans to wed Penelope and become king, as he plots to kill Telemachus along the way. Pattinson’s performance is so good that I expected the audience to boo him at times. While they don’t do that, they did laugh at his attempts to get others to do his dastardly bidding. It’s to Nolan’s credit that there isn’t a bad performance in the cast, and it’s going to be hard to pick out which actors should be nominated for Oscars. I predict that, like Nolan’s Oppenheimer, this film will garner a slew of award nominations and be the frontrunner for Best Picture. The Odyssey is a magical film that combines the wonder of the old Ray Harryhausen films with the drama of Homer, Virgil, and Euripides. So put on your helmet and armor and go on an epic journey where one man tried to defy the gods and get back home. The journey is long but worth every step.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Odyssey Website   Now playing in theaters, including IMAX

Indiefest:  Romeria  (2025)  Spanish director Carla Simon gives us a tale of hidden secrets and discovery in Romeria. When Marina (Llucia Garcia) applies for a college scholarship, she learns that her late father never claimed to have a child. The only way she can claim the scholarship is by getting her father’s parents to sign a notarized document stating that she is indeed their daughter. Marina then travels to a seaside town to visit a side of her family that she has never known, as both her parents died when she was a baby, and then she was adopted. Marina soon discovers that her parents' story is a closely guarded secret, and she slowly peels it back through dogged determination to find the truth. This is a film that slowly builds, letting us get to know Marina, and we are along with her on a journey in a new land, guided only by her mother’s diary and a few morsels of information that her relatives reluctantly give. Llucia Garcia gives us a multi-layered performance of a character who is independent, determined, and, while mostly staying in the background at family gatherings, isn’t shy about asking about her parents, especially when alone with a family member. She also isn’t above eavesdropping on conversations about her and her parents when the family members don’t know she is listening. This is a film about how generations deal with grief and shame, trying to keep their troubles hidden behind locked doors, never publicly exposing the truth, and also keeping out any feelings for the deceased. Romeria is a story full of surprises and compassion for lost souls who never found their way back into the light until Marina dug further into their lives.  My Rating: Full Price  Romeria Website  Now playing in select theaters

Indiefest:  The Python Hunt  (2025)   Every year, the state of Florida invites the public to hunt pythons in the Everglades. For 10 nights, a group of hunters from across the states and the world travel across the Everglades in search of the gigantic snakes, risking everything from poisonous snakes to boredom to win a cash prize and say they are python hunters. This documentary concentrates on some unique and bizarre individuals from a man from San Francisco who every day shaves another part of his beard, to a hard drinking 82-year-old woman who just wants the thrill of putting a knife into a pythons brain to a former professional snake hunter who has been suspended from hunting and is now a Door Dash deliver who dreams of hunting the big snakes again with his teen daughter. As you would expect from a documentary set in the Everglades of Florida, the people in this film are rather strange and seem more about being in the hunt than actually getting results. As the hunt goes on, we see people losing interest in going out every night (when the pythons are most active) and driving up and down roads, looking with spotlights for snakes that are hard to find, especially when you stay in your truck. The film embraces how ridiculous this hunt is and how little it accomplishes, while allowing the state of Florida to bring in tourists under the excuse of helping local wildlife. I loved the shots of pythons being illuminated by the searchers’ spotlights, but no one sees them as they move along undisturbed. The film does a great job of showing just how hard it is to hunt these reptiles and how the contest (just over 200 pythons killed in the ten days) is a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the problem the snakes might pose. Or, as the film points out, that man himself is the problem with the vanishing wildlife and not the snakes themselves. So, grab a spotlight, get into your truck, and go out into the night with a strange and funny group of hunters. You might learn a thing or two; just watch where you walk when you get out of your truck.  My Rating: Full Price   The Python Hunt Website  Now playing in select theaters and available to rent on Amazon Prime.

Forgotten Film:  The Golden Voyage of Sinbad  (1973)  G  Sinbad (John Philip Law) goes on a quest to find three golden tablets that will give him access to the ancient temple of the Oracle of All Knowledge. Sinbad picks up a slave girl, Margiana (Caroline Munro), and they race against the evil magician Koura (Tom Baker), who will do anything to get the tablets. The film showcases Ray Harryhausen’s incredible stop-motion animation, featuring amazing, fantastical creatures, including a six-armed Kali statue that comes to life and engages in a sword battle with Sinbad. The storyline is a little weak, and John Philip Law looks great but can’t act, but it’s got the Harryhausen magic and one of the most beautiful actresses in cinema at the time, Caroline Munro, who, when I saw it in 1973, I was in love with. I can even tell you which theater I saw this film in.  My Rating:  Full Price (hey, a Cyclops Centaur, a Griffin, and a six-armed swordsman are worth the rating, don’t you think).  The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Info  The film is available on most online platforms

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Odyssey:  Bambooman

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  The Dink  (2026)  PG-13   The Dink follows a washed-up former tennis prodigy, Dusty (Jake Johnson), who, to survive, has been forced to teach tennis to children at his father’s (Ed Harris) failing country club. After Dusty is injured, his rehab assignment is pickleball, a sport that he thinks is stupid and beneath his talent. Little does he know, pickleball could save both the country club and his self-respect. The cast includes Mary Steenburgen, Ben Stiller, tennis great Andy Roddick, Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Aaron Chen, and Chris Parnell.   The Dink Info  Premiering on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 24, 2026

Until Next Time!

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

My View: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple  (2026) R  28 Years Later: The Bone Temple takes place after the events of 28 Years Later. Spike (Alfie Williams) has joined Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal’s (Jack O’Connell) gang as they go on a killing spree. Meanwhile, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) forms a new relationship with one of the undead, setting in motion something with world-changing consequences. I loved our return to the world of zombies in 28 Years Later, calling it “a zombie tale that has incredible cinematography, a bombastic soundtrack, and an ending that you will not see coming.” I can say almost the same thing for this film, with the exception that this film has quite a bit of humor to it as the film centers on two people, Spike, who finds himself part of a gang led by an absolute nut, and Dr. Kelson, who starts up (are you ready for this?), a friendship with one of the bad guys from the first 28 Years film, the zombie he has named Sampson. This time, Spike is in the most trouble, as the gang he has unwillingly become a part of is led by a man, Sir Lord Jimmy, who thinks he is a direct descendant of Satan (known as Old Nick). Spike is just trying to survive without getting killed himself as the gang travels across the country, killing both zombies and regular people. In fact, they get more pleasure out of killing people than killing zombies, which they do with a striking matter-of-fact ease. Our other hero has tired of this life and takes a chance, trying to connect with Sampson. Ralph Fiennes gives us a remarkable performance as a man curious about how the zombies see the world and, by drugging Sampson into a stupor, has very one-sided conversations with him. This is an outstanding film that keeps the thrills and kills abundant, with a plot that you can't predict where it’s going, and a slice of humor found in unexpected places. It’s an incredible mix of just how bad people can be, while others can find humanity in the smallest interactions. Plus, did you ever think you would see a zombie film that features the playlist of Duran Duran? I sure didn’t, but I’m glad I did. I can’t wait to see what happens next! And yes, from the ending we see that there will be another 28 Years film in the future.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Dead Man’s Wire  (2025) R   Dead Man’s Wire follows Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), who, in February 1977, enters the office of a mortgage company, taking the president of the company hostage with a sawed-off shotgun wired with a ‘dead man’s wire.’ All Tony wants is some respect and the money that he feels is coming to him. Based on a true story (stay during the credits to see the real Tony Kiritsis in news reports), Bill Skarsgård gives a tour de force performance of a man who feels that his only move is to kidnap an executive of the mortgage company that he feels destroyed his dream of building a shopping mall. The film is buoyed by a performance by Coleman Domingo as a radio DJ who becomes the go-between the cops and Tony. I can’t say the same for Al Pacino’s performance as the head of the mortgage company that Bill wanted to be the one with the dead man’s wire attached to him. It’s a performance that is way too much Pacino and takes a lot of the air out of the film. Luckily, that conversation is pretty short, and the film picks up again quickly. Dead Man’s Wire is a captivating look at how a man's dreams can turn into a nightmare when the world is against him. My Rating: Full Price  Dead Man's Wire Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  The Rip  (2026) R   In The Rip, a team of Miami cops turn on one another after finding over $20 million in a stash house. Unsure whom to trust, tension escalates when outsiders get wind of the score, turning the night into a relentless nightmare. At the start of The Rip, we see the head of a police task force being hunted by two masked men. She sends a text message to someone, knowing that she is about to be killed. We find out that the message was sent to Lt. Dane Dumars (Matt Damon), the dead cop's second in command of the unit, who is incensed that there seems to be so little investigation going on in the killing of his boss. Thus begins a story full of twists and turns. It’s a story where you don’t know who to trust, including Dane’s best friend and fellow task force member JD (Ben Affleck), who we find out was having an affair with the slain cop. As you would expect, Affleck and Damon play off each other incredibly well. It’s disappointing that they couldn’t find a better part for Teyana Taylor, who is part of Dane’s team but is mostly in the background for most of the film. I found the action sequences a bit lacking, especially the night firefights, which are hard to follow. However, The Rip does a great job throughout most of the film, keeping you guessing just who to believe. Unfortunately, the film lets us down in the final scenes, which are both predictable and somewhat disappointing. It’s too bad that they couldn’t come up with a better ending and keep us in the dark until the end. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The Rip Website  Now playing on Netflix

My View: All You Need is Kill  (2025) R  All You Need is Kill is about a young warrior named Rita who is trapped in a time loop after an alien invasion. She is forced to relive her death over and over until she meets another looped warrior named Keiji, and they team up to try to break the cycle. Based on the same novel as the Tom Cruise movie Edge of Tomorrow, the film is more about how Rita confronts her life as a loner who has to trust another person with her life, making it a very different experience to watch. The animation is outstanding, and the action sequences are fun and thrilling. This Japanese animated film is an electrifying and enchanting tale of courage, resourcefulness, and learning to believe not only in yourself but in another.  My Rating: Full Price  All You Need is Kill Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  The Voice of Hind Rajab  (2025) R  The Voice of Hind Rajab follows Red Crescent volunteers during a day when they receive an emergency call from a 6-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, pleading for help as she is trapped in a car under IDF fire in Gaza. While they try to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. This is a heartbreaking, tense film. I will warn you, it will be a tough watch, especially for parents. Based on a true story, the film uses actual recordings of the 6-year-old girl’s calls to the emergency call center. Using only Palestinian actors in the roles of the Red Crescent volunteers, the film lets us get to know some of the volunteers before the call comes in. Once the girl calls, it’s a cat-and-mouse game to get permission from the authorities to send an ambulance to rescue her. It’s a film full of tension as the pace increases, the longer the girl is stuck in the car, as each phone call becomes more frantic and the danger ramps up. This is a film full of courage, humanity, and sorrow, one that will be with me for a long time. While I am giving this film my highest rating, I don’t think I could ever watch it again. And I have a feeling that many parents that start watching this film may leave the theater before it end.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Voice of Hind Rajab Website   Now playing in select theaters

Forgotten Film:  State of Play  (2009) PG-13  A nationally known reporter, Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) for a D.C. newspaper, discovers a series of deaths that are tied to a congressman (Ben Affleck) and a powerful company. With the help of the plucky newspaper blogger, Della (Rachel McAdams), they discover just how far the corporation will go to keep their secrets, and it could mean Cal and Della’s lives. This is one of those films where the star power is far more fun than the actual plot. The cast is impressive, with Robin Wright, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, and Helen Mirren in important roles. The storyline is a little messy, but it’s fun watching Crowe bully everyone around, and McAdams is great as the newspaper’s blogger that Cal takes under his wing to show her how to break a real story.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  State of Play Info  The film is available for rent on Apple TV+

Weird Credits:  From the credits of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: Dr. Kelson Fire Performer

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Send Help (2026) R Linda (Rachel McAdams) has the boss from hell in Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), who tells her she has one last chance to impress him on an upcoming trip, or she is fired. When their plane crashes and the two find themselves stranded on a deserted island, things have changed. Now Linda is in charge, and Bradley is close to being fired or dead. When I saw the movie poster in a theater lobby, I didn’t recognize Rachel McAdams.  Send Help Website   In theaters on Friday, January 30, 2026.

Until Next Time!

Borderlands

My View:  Borderlands  (2024)  PG-13    Borderlands tells the tale of Lilith (Cate Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter who has reluctantly returned to her home planet, Pandora, to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Edgar Ramirez), the universe’s most powerful villain. Lilith recruits a ragtag team to find the missing daughter, who might be the key to saving the universe. What drunken bet did Cate Blanchett make to be forced into making this movie? I can see why Kevin Hart would do it. He gets to be a hero in a sci-fi film, and it was probably a week’s worth of filming for Jamie Lee to do. Blanchett does give it her all, and it’s fun for a while to see her play the tough, spit-in-their-face bounty hunter with the red hair and the fun gunslinger outfit. She gives off her usual glow of charisma, which helps give the film some energy, but she’s just about the only one, as some of the cast seem to think they are doing a walk-through and not actually filming. The delivery of Edgar Ramirez's lines as Atlas, the film's bad guy, was so bad that fellow moviegoers at my theater laughed every time he spoke. I guess the film aspires to be a throwback to those late 70s/early 80s sci-fi movies that came out after Star Wars was a hit. Those films were often stupid and the special effects were bad, but they were fun to watch. Borderlands is not cheesy enough to be fun; instead, it’s just dull with a bunch of characters thrown together from the video game. I am guessing gamers who have played the game will be disappointed. Ariana Greenblatt, as Tiny Tina, the daughter of Atlas, tries to bring Cate some help as a pixie girl with a thing for bombs, but it doesn’t help. I don’t know; maybe this will become a campy cult film like Tank Girl or Buckaroo Banzai, but I think it will be forgotten like those 70s knockoffs of Star Wars. And by the way, Jack Black, as the voice of the sidekick robot Claptrap, has to be one of the most annoying characters in film since a certain Star Wars character that shall remain nameless. After the main credits, there is a brief bonus scene that features Claptrap, but it's not worth staying for. But then again, neither is the rest of the film.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  Borderlands Website  Now Playing in theaters. 

My View:  It Ends With Us  (2024)  PG-14   It Ends with Us tells the story of Lily (Blake Lively), who has overcome a traumatic childhood and has moved to Boston to open her flower shop. There, she meets the man of her dreams, a neurosurgeon, Ryle (Justin Baldoni), and falls in love. However, she starts to see a pattern in Kyle that brings up the mistakes of her childhood. Then Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), Lily’s first love, reenters her life, and Lily must rely on her strength to make tough decisions. Much was made online when the casting of this film was announced because the book’s characters were much younger than leads Lively and Baldoni. However, the author of the best-selling book, Colleen Hoover, wanted to escape the YA label for the movie and make the characters older. Good idea, since there are very few 28-year-olds (how old Ryle is in the book) that are neurosurgeons about to do a new technique in surgery. The film does an interesting thing, allowing us to see events through Lily’s eyes, and when things go slightly wrong (in her eyes) with Ryle, she doesn’t remember how serious those incidents were. First, the good: Blake Lively, as expected, is terrific as Lily, and she gives us a character that we instantly fall in love with. She deserves much better than the plot or the dialogue gives her. As Lily’s best friend, Jenny Slate brings light and happiness to every scene she is in, stealing each scene and our hearts. The problem in this film is twofold. One is Justin Baldoni as Ryle. Baldoni is not much more than a lot of abs. He just doesn’t have the star power or charisma for us to think from the start that Ryle is a match for Lily. Then, we don’t get enough of Atlas as an adult to see the contrast between the two loves of Lily’s life. And don’t get me started on where the heck do all these people (excluding Ryle) get their money. Lily has more designer costume changes than a Taylor Swift concert. And both Atlas and Lily are able to open their own businesses in a big city like Boston and almost instantly become a hit. The film tries to address violence and how it can follow people from their childhood into adulthood, which is great, but it’s done in such a clumsy way that we never get that feeling at the end that justice has been served. It’s only moved on.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  It Ends with Us Website  Now Playing in theaters. 

My View:  Cuckoo  (2024)  R  In Cuckoo, Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is seventeen and is mad at the world after her mother died and her father remarried. She and her family move into a resort, where Gretchen’s father (Marton Csókás) and stepmother (Mila Lieu) have been hired to design a new resort to replace the aging one. Gretchen takes a job as a receptionist at the resort, and strange things start happening. It’s a job that just might be Gretchen’s last. Hunter Schafer is brilliant and fun to watch in this weird horror film that takes you down a road you didn’t know you wanted to be on. While playing the angry teen, Schafer gives us a reason to root for her early on and she doesn’t disappoint when the action scenes start. Schafer plays the outcast, having to join her dad’s new family because her mother has died. What makes it worse is dad has a new job at a really creepy European resort where you aren’t supposed to go out after 10 pm, and people throw up all the time. Add in the resort owner, Herr Konig (played with a great accent by Dan Stevens), who is just as creepy as his resort, touching everyone too long and always talking about science in a way that just seems personal. Gretchen takes the job at the resort to make money so she can return to her home in America. Then things get weird, with people throwing up in the lobby, then disappearing, and Herr Konig keeps warning Gretchen not to go out by herself after 10 pm. The film has some terrifying moments, with most of the scares building up to create tension that doesn’t let up. When things start going off the rails, Gretchen decides to find out what the hell is going on, and we know when she does, it is going to be off-the-charts bizarre. Cuckoo is a film you want to keep watching just to hopefully figure out what the heck is happening at this ‘cuckoo’ resort.  My Rating: Full Price  Cuckoo Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Instigators  (2024)  R   In The Instigators, two robbers (Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) are part of a heist that goes bad. With the assistance of one of their therapists (Hong Chau), they go on the run. To put it simply, they have a lot of problems to work out. The Instigators is a heist movie where things keep going wrong. It’s supposed to be a fun romp, but like Matt Damon’s character Rory, who won’t laugh at any of Cobby’s (Casey Affleck) jokes, we also never get it. The film feels like Casey Affleck, who co-wrote the film, wanted to do a buddy pic but didn’t want to be a buddy to anybody. The Instigators is a film that works hard at trying to be clever, but it never is, as it uses car chases and blowing up buildings to try and build excitement, but we never get that feeling that the stakes are very high, especially when they ‘kidnap’ Dr. Rivera (Hong Chau), a character that is there to add humor and meaning to the movie but instead adds nothing but another person to look like they aren’t having any fun making this film. This may be one of Matt Damon’s worst performances, but it’s hard to tell if he is even in this film; his character is so dull. The ending is as unbelievable as the rest of the film and as just as unexciting and humorless as the rest of the film.  My Rating: Cable  The Instigators Info Now playing on Apple TV+

Indiefest:  Sing Sing  (2023)  R  I am rerunning this review from July 12th because the film is finally releasing wider and it’s that good! Devine G (Colman Domingo), a man in jail for a crime he did not commit, survives by acting in a theater group with other inmates. This is a powerful and emotional film about a group of men in a hopeless situation who find comfort and power in the theater. Led by an incredibly moving performance by Colman Domingo, we see how inspired the men are to find an outlet for their emotions and thoughts. The cast is made up mostly of former convicts who were in the theater program. Because of the casting, we see how moving and powerful acting is to let the men get in touch with their feelings and emotions in a system that doesn’t always allow you to do so. We get to see the men start the process of finding a play, in this case, written for them, that melds Shakespeare with modern spoken word to significant effect. I was struck by how much this cast made us feel what they were going through, giving us an inside look at a world we can only imagine. Sing Sing is a film about healing, no matter what you have done in the past, and using the power of theater and acting to find that way.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Sing Sing Website   Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest: Coup!  (2023)  Coup! takes place during the 1918 influenza epidemic, when a new cook named Floyd Monk (Peter Sarsgaard) comes to work for the family of wealthy journalist Jay (Billy Magnussen) and his socialite wife Julie (Gadon) at their family estate on an island. It’s a hiring that will turn the family’s idyllic life upside down. The film is set during the 1918 influenza epidemic but the film certainly has COVID overtones as a family has camped out in a lush estate on an island in what they hope is isolation to wait out the flu epidemic. In walks Floyd Monk, who we know from the movie’s first few scenes, isn’t really Mr. Monk, but someone who has taken the late Mr. Monk’s identity. Right from the first appearance on the island, the now Mr. Monk, played by the wonderful Peter Sarsgarrd, starts causing trouble. From catching the eye of the socialite wife to pushing back at how the family treats the staff, Mr. Monk starts up the fire on Jay, the wealthy journalist who prides himself on being a voice for the working man. Peter Sarsgarrd is the reason to see this film because he has a blast as Mr. Monk, a man who enjoys pushing boundaries. The phrase ‘give someone an itch and they’ll take a mile’ fits Mr. Monk. He’s like the somewhat cool guy in the bar who is fun to hang around for an hour or two, but don’t invite him to do anything else because he will take every advantage of you. Billy Magnussen is fun as the put-upon head of the household, Jay, who thinks he is smarter than everyone else, but Mr. Monk runs rings around him, taking advantage of every little slip Jay makes. Coup! is a movie about class and how it sometimes breeds hypocrisy. So take a sip of the flask of Jay’s whiskey that Mr. Monk hands you and join him on a ride to see who actually runs the household. It may not last, but it’s going to be fun for a while.  My Rating: Full Price   Coup! Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes  (2024)  TV-MA  The documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes uses newly discovered interviews with Elizabeth Taylor to give us an inside look at a star who fascinated a world long before the internet and social media. In interviews given to a writer for a book that was never published and recordings that Liz did with friends and husbands, we follow Elizabeth’s path from child star to the highest-paid actor of her time. It’s a fascinating and insightful look at a woman who wasn’t always happy with her life, loves, and career. From being forced by the MGM studio to do movies, she felt didn’t show off her talent and only exploited her looks, Elizabeth wanted to be out on her own but also continually desired to be married. That conflict shows up time after time as she marries the wrong man almost every time. From watching the film, I feel that Mike Todd, the movie producer, was the only man who could have stayed married to Liz and made her happy. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash, and her next husband, the sleazy singer Eddie Fisher, moved in. The film does a great job of giving us an inside look at the disastrous making of Cleopatra and the romance of Liz and Richard Burton. And she does talk about her first Academy Award win for Butterfield 8, which she felt was not deserved. That she only got the award (for a film she calls shit many times) because she almost died. The Lost Tapes is a wonderful celebration of a woman who captivated a world not only with her beauty and talent but also with her kindness and compassion. My Rating: Full Price  The Lost Tapes Website Now playing on Max.

Indiefest:  Didi (2024)  R  In 2008, during the last month of summer, before he starts high school, Chris (Izaac Wang), a thirteen-year-old at the horror of his mother (Joan Chen), is constantly shooting videos and trying to make friends instead of studying. He is a typical American boy, learning to be a teenager while trying not to disappoint his Taiwanese family. This is a touching, heartfelt coming-of-age film about a teen trying to find something, anything that he is good at because it seems all he does is disappoint his family. Chris is called Wang by his buddies and Didi by his family, but when he meets some older skating guys, he tells them his name is Chris. Chris decides to make his mark by being a skateboard filmmaker and googles everything he can on the subject. He tells a group of skaters that he is a filmmaker and will create videos for them. Then runs home and googles how to do it. Chris is surrounded by women in his family (his father is overseas), and his mother Chungsing, played by the fabulous Joan Chen, is holding down the fort. He has an older sister who is getting ready to go to college and is constantly at war with Chris. And then there is the opinionated grandmother (his father’s mother) who constantly tells the family what to do and puts down Chungsing every chance she gets. Chris has a crush on a girl named Madi, who he secretly stalks until one day, it turns out she might be interested in him. Chris tries what he thinks is the right thing, but often, he misjudges his audience or himself. In the end, Chris’s plans come crashing down, and he discovers that life can’t be learned on the internet. Didi is a wonderful film, full of laughs and a few heartbreaks, just like a thirteen-year-old kid’s life should be.  My Rating: Full Price  Didi Website  Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Regeneration (also known as Behind the Lines) (1997) R  The story of soldiers from WWI who have been sent to a special asylum for emotional troubles. Two of the soldiers sent there are Wilfred Owen (Stuart Bruce) and Siegfried (James Wilby), two of England’s most important WW1 poets. Sassoon has been sent there after winning a medal for bravery, wrote a document citing his objections to war, which caused a stir when it was read in the halls of Parliament. He was given the choice of court-martial or treatment. The soldiers are under the treatment of Dr. William Rivers (Jonathan Pryce), who slowly comes to understand that the road to recovery is long, some of which may never recover from the horrors that they saw. The film shows the lives that are ruined by war and how hard it is to get back to the everyday world when you have experienced war. It’s a thoughtful and intense movie that has some outstanding performances.  My Rating: Full Price   Regeneration Info  The film is available on most streaming services under the title Behind the Lines.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Cuckoo: Mood Storyboard 

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Speak No Evil  (2024)  R    A married couple, Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise Dalton Mackenzie Davis) and their young daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler), on vacation, meet another couple (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi), along with their daughter and son. A friendship is developed, and the other family invites the Daltons to stay at their country home for the weekend. Their stay is fun at the start, then the hosts’ behavior soon turns sinister as dark secrets are exposed and the family realizes that they will be lucky to get out alive. The film is a remake of a Dutch movie of the same name and is already causing a stir among horror/suspense fans. The film comes out in theaters on Sept. 13, 2024.  Speak No Evil Website

Until Next Time

Challengers

My View: Challengers (2024) R   Challengers tells the story of Tashi (Zendaya), who was a tennis prodigy about to set the tennis world on fire before she suffered a devastating injury she couldn’t recover from. Now, years later, she is a coach and married to a former champion (Mike Faist) who is on a losing streak, and the question is how far Tashi is willing to go to get him back on his winning streak with her husbands best friend (Josh O’Conner). Challengers is a movie that appears to focus on sexual relationships, but actually revolves around who has the upper hand and how they can maintain it. This is a film that has so many twists and turns that you almost become dizzy as the three leads vie to land that winning serve, only to have someone else return the serve just as hard. If Zendaya wasn’t a lead in a film before this, she is now. Zendaya is breathtaking as a woman who was at the top of her game, only to have it taken away in an instant, and now is playing through her husband (and he’s not dominating as he should be). It’s a powerful performance that gives you chills it’s so good. I hope this film isn’t being released too early for Academy Award members to forget about this performance because it deserves to be nominated. This is a film in which you will not like any of the characters (ok, maybe the daughter), and you will still be enthralled by all the head games that are being played (keep an eye out for a certain t-shirt that makes a few appearances as an example). For a film that is based on sex, there isn’t a lot in it, which surprised me. Instead, this is about three people who act as they are caring but inside they are all out for themselves. How fragile they are when the stakes are so high, and all the participants are there to win. So take a few practice swings with your racquet and be sure to do some stretching because you will need to be warmed up and limber to handle this film.   My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Challengers Website Now playing theaters nationwide

Indiefest: We Grown Now (2023) PG  We Grown Now is set in 1992 Chicago, where a mother named Dolores (Jurnee Smollett) is raising her 12-year-old son Malik (Blake Cameron James) in one of the most crime-infested parts of the city. Malik must grow up fast, but he has help from his best friend Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) and his grandmother Anita (S. Epatha Merkerson). Dolores will have to make some tough choices if Malik is going to survive in this environment. We Grown Now is a beautiful and moving film about friendship, family, and how children see the world in a different light from adults. First, the performances of the two best friends are magical and, at times, a little breathtaking. We Grown Now is their film as we see what is happening to their neighborhood through their eyes. From the ever presence of violence to the clamping down of the rights of the people who live in the housing community, the world of these kids is filled with danger and the feeling of being almost caged by their surroundings. The two kids try to stay positive and hopeful, even taking a day to skip school and go on an adventure to an art museum because they are bored at school. I can’t tell you how much I loved this film, going on adventures with Malik and Eric while knowing that their parents are dealing with some tough times and hard choices that will affect their children’s future. We Grown Now is a film that is full of kids being kids, but like life itself, it's also about injustice and heartbreak. The kind of heartbreak that won't leave you. So, join the two best friends and maybe join in when they do some shouting from time to time.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again We Grown Now Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Indiefest: Boy Kills World (2023) R  Boy (Bill Skarsgård) saw his family murdered, and he was rendered deaf and mute. Since then, Boy has been training with one mission: to kill the person responsible, Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the evil leader of a televised game of survival called The Culling. They saw Boy coming, but could they stop him? When I saw the trailer for this film, I thought, ‘This will be a fun ride.’ However, sometimes the trailers are better than the actual film; in this case, this is one of them. Fans of tight combat will enjoy the plethora of fights in this film. And Mr. Bill Skarsgård does a fine job as an action hero. But, the film never can find the story it wants to tell, relying too much on lame jokes and over-active camera moves during the fight sequences. The plot twists of the film are excessive, as the script assumes it's more clever than it actually is. Boy Kills World loses steam about halfway through and never quite recovers. Anyway, can we go back to that trailer?   My Rating: Cable  Boy Kills World Website    Now playing in theatres. 

Forgotten Film: Conversations with Other Women (2005)  R   A man (Aaron Eckhart) and a woman (Helena Bonham Carter) start flirting with each other at a wedding reception. They are getting along so well that they decide to carry the conversation to a hotel room. They will soon learn about each other and may have known each other when they were younger. While some reviewers have compared this film to the Before Sunrise/Sunset films, this is very different because the whole movie is shot on a split screen. Sometimes, it’s just to show the two reacting to things simultaneously, but it also gives us the characters’ perspectives on what is being said or what they thought was said. This is a film to watch for the performances, and Carter and Eckhart are brilliant in this film, where the characters go from flirty to serious in a matter of minutes and then back again. Conversations with Other Women is one of those films you will want to talk to someone about after seeing it.   My Rating: Full Price  Conversations with Other Women Info   The film is available on multiple streaming platforms. 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Boy Kills World: Second Unit Sparks

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: IF   (2024)     Bea (Cailey Fleming) has gone through some tough times but has discovered a secret power: She can see everyone’s imaginary friends. With help from Cal (Ryan Reynolds), Bea embarks on a magical journey to reconnect forgotten ‘IFs’ with their long-lost kids. Written and directed by John Krasinski and with a voice cast that includes Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Jon Stewart, Awkwafina, and more, this will surely be a film that people will want to see. The film releases on Friday, May 17th.

Until Next Time!

Air

My View: Air (2023) R   The story of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), who convinced Nike and its chairman Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to sign and develop a shoe for a new up-and-coming basketball player, Michael Jordan. Before Nike became the force of sneaker-dom, they were a company known for good running shoes, and that was about it. Nike’s weren’t fashionable. That was Adidas, with shoes a part of the rap music scene. Converse made the shoes that your basketball heroes wore. And Nike had a few stars, but the basketball line was doing so poorly that Phil Knight was considering shutting the line down. In walks Sonny, who comes up with a way to save the Nike basketball line. Develop a shoe around Michael Jordan, a college player who wasn’t even the number one draft choice. The big problem was that Jordan hated Nike shoes and wanted to wear Adidas. This is a fun, exciting film about the shoe industry. You heard me right. A movie about the shoe industry and where Nike is the little underdog: that’s what makes this film work so well, as it takes all your expectations and turns them upside down. From the brilliant direction of Ben Affleck to the winning performances of the cast, this is a film that could easily win next year’s Academy Award Best Picture. As Michael Jordan’s mother, Viola Davis alone is worth the admission price. From Sonny’s first meeting with Mrs. Jordan to the make-or-break scene with her on the phone to Sonny, it’s a performance that makes this film go from good to great. The rest of the cast is excellent and makes this enjoyable to watch from start to finish, including Jason Bateman as Sonny’s boss, Chris Tucker as the company closer, and Matt Maher as the shoe designer who came up with the first Air Jordan design. And I couldn’t go on without talking about a soundtrack that is maybe one of my favorites of all time. Whether you are a sneakerhead, a sports fan, or just a movie fan, you will love this film.   My Rating: I Would Pay To See it Again  Air Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Familyfaire: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) PG  A Brooklyn plumber named Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) finds himself in the world of the Mushroom Kingdom, where he is searching for his brother Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day). Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) will help Mario in his quest. However, an evil force in the world threatens to take over the entire kingdom, a ruthless, fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser (Jack Black). I am not a big gaming fan and have only played Mario Kart, so watching this film was like watching one of those Japanese animated films that are part of a TV series and expects you to know who are all the characters and get all the in-jokes. Some of my fellow film critics that have grown up on Nintendo and the Mario Brothers world had a much better time than I did. That being said, this movie is for kids, and they will love it. The film is one long video game, with the characters constantly having to do tasks taken directly from video games, like riding supped-up go-karts or having to go through elaborate obstacle courses. I found the film boring, the plot almost pointless, and most of the characters are one-dimensional. I enjoyed Jack Black as the evil Bowser, who is doing all his evil things just to get Princess Peach to marry him. Bowser is pretty funny as the love-sick bad guy who likes to serenade anyone while playing the piano. I was a bit disappointed by the voice performance by Chris Pratt, who brought nothing to the role and is only saved by his character’s interaction with tough-as-nails Princess Peach, voiced by the Anya Taylor-Joy. The film is from the Illumination studio, which gives us the very unfunny Minion films (I find them funny for about a minute, then they wear me out), and The Super Mario Bros. Movie feels like just one of their usual let’s throw everything up on the screen and hope some of it’s funny. Fans of Nintendo games and young kids are going to love this movie; the rest of us are searching for the cartridge on our Nintendo 64 to put in our GoldenEye 007 game. There are two bonus scenes in the credits, one at the very end of the final credits.   My Rating: Cable  The Super Mario Bros. Movie Website Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Praise This (2023)   A group of students at a performing arts school find that their love of music brings them together to compete for the chance to perform at a legendary music festival. The best way to describe this film is its Pitch Perfect for the Hip-Hop crowd, with lots of God and Jesus thrown in. The reason to see this film is Chloe Bailey, who plays Sam, who is sent by her father from LA to her relatives in Atlanta after one too many times acting out and getting into trouble. Sam is taken in by her cousin Jess (Anjelika Washington), who immediately gets her to join the church praise team gearing up for singing competitions. Sam figures out this could be her ticket out of Atlanta to become a singer. Like Pitch Perfect, there is a ton of singing, both in competition and in public, like when a DJ goads Sam in a club to prove she can make up lyrics to popular songs. The film does an excellent job of not pushing the religious angle too much, letting the songs do most of the message. Chloe Bailey dominates the movie with a singing voice that blows you away and a fabulous stage presence. That being said, I found that the film spent a lot of time on the performances (it has three or four competitions; I lost count) and very little time on character development. Still, Praise This a fun ride for the Hip-Hop for Jesus crowd.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Praise This Website   Now playing on the Peacock platform.

My View: On a Wing and a Prayer (2023) PG  Doug White (Dennis Quaid) and his family are flying back home on a small airplane when the pilot dies during the flight. Now Doug must fly and land the plane, with only the help of a fellow pilot on the radio (Jesse Metcalfe). This is a faith-based movie that throws just about everything it can at our hero. Doug is a likable guy who, in the opening scene, can’t come close to landing a single-engine plane, all while his brother is in the backseat egging him on. Doug’s life goes bad when his brother dies, and the family has to fly to the funeral. On the way back, the pilot dies of a heart attack, and now Doug has to fly the plane by himself, with his family on board, no less. I won’t go into what more can go wrong; just know that it does. Doug’s faith is wavering even before the flight, and now he has to put his faith in God to get his family back safe and sound. The film never finds the right tone and no matter that it is based on a true story, it feels fake, with the film never making us scared that Doug won’t be able to land the plane. It’s sad because during the credits, we see the real Doug giving a speech about the flight, and it’s much more entertaining than the film it follows.   My Rating: Cable  On a Wing and a Prayer Website  Now playing on the Amazon Prime platform.

Familyfaire: Chupa (2023) PG  Thirteen-year-old Alex (Evan Whitten) is visiting his grandfather (Demián Bichir) and his cousins in Mexico. There Alex learns of the legendary mythical creature named El Chupacabra. Alex soon discovers that the legend is true as he finds a young chupacabra cub living under his grandfather’s shed. Alex finds out that the family has a secret history with the chupacabras, and some people are hunting the misunderstood creature to harness the power of the chupacabra. I liked this family film mainly because it combined two things I love about Mexico; the legend and lore of the Chupacabra and Mexican wrestling called Lucha Libre. Chupacabras are mythical beasts that are a combination of a mountain lion with a bird, who come out at night and drink the blood of goats. Alex learns about not only the legend of Chupacabras, but also that his grandfather was a legendary wrestler who had to retire because of a ring accident that damaged his brain. Chupa is a film for kids, and they will fall in love with the little adorable ‘Chupa’ hiding in the family barn. They will also enjoy the wrestling antics Alex, his cousin, and his grandfather go through. Adults will have fun with the evil scientist (Christian Slater) who wants to find and capture a Chupacabra due to the legend that their blood has magical healing powers. Slater chews up the scenery in his scenes as he threatens to take Chupa away from Alex and his family. So put on your wrestling tights and get ready to go on an adventure with Alex and Chupa.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Chupa Website  Now playing on the Netflix platform. 

My View: Paint (2023) PG-13  Carl Nargle (Owen Wilson) is Vermont’s number-one public television painter who is adored by his fans. He has it all with a signature perm, a custom van, a rocking studio, and a TV show where everyone watches his every stroke. Then a new painter comes to town, a woman named Ambrosia (Ciara Renée), and it all comes crashing down. If only the film had half as much personality as the PBS painter Bob Ross that Owen Wilson’s character is based on, it might work, but sadly it doesn’t. I was looking forward to this film based on the cast, which includes Stephen Root, Michaela Watkins, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Lusia Strus, Denny Dillon, and Lucy Freyer. Unfortunately, this film is a one-joke pony that goes downhill after the first five minutes and never recovers. The film can never decide if it is a satire or an out-of-the-box comedy, and it fails at both. Paint isn’t funny, flat from the start, and doesn’t like its subject. This painting doesn’t contain any ‘happy little clouds’ and feels more like a paint-by-the-numbers canvas with the numbers all faded out.   My Rating; Cable  Paint Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: One Day as a Lion (2023) R  Jackie Powers (Scott Caan) is a nice guy but a terrible hitman. When Jackie is sent to take out a local rancher (J. K. Simmons), he misses the target, only pissing off the rancher, kills the cook by accident, and takes a bored waitress, Lola (Marianne Rendón), as a hostage. Things then get complicated. This is a fun little film about a guy who gets in way over his head, involving a power play between a local tough guy rancher, played by J. K. Simmons, and a mobster, played by Frank Grillo. Scott Caan is likable as the sad sack wanna-be killer who botches the hit and then tries to figure a way out with the help of the waitress he has kidnapped. It turns out Lola, played by the fantastic Marianne Rendón, has another idea to get Jackie the money he needs to bail his son out of jail and help Lola out, too. It’s fun to watch J. K. Simmons and Frank Grillo try to out bravado each other. The reason to see this film is Marianne Rendón, who gives life to the scenes between her and Caan, as the spunky and sarcastic woman who wants to get out of Oklahoma any way she can. Caan is fine as the everyman Jackie, bringing a bit of humor to his role of a man who can’t get a break. Will Jackie and Lola escape, or will they be part of the battle brewing between the rancher and the mobster? My Rating: Bargain Matinee  One Day as a Lion Info  Now playing in theatres and available On Demand.

My View:  Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (2023)   Documentary on actor, model, and icon Brooke Shields who, from a very early age, became a sex symbol appearing at age 12 as the child prostitute in the film Pretty Baby (1978). Living in the spotlight so young was not a simple life, but Shields survived to let the world know the dangers of too much too soon. I was never a big fan of Brooke Shields, the actor, but I have always been a fan of Brooke Shields, the person. This two-part documentary lets you into the life of Shields, who, from her first appearances in ads as a baby, grew up before our eyes and, at one time, was the most famous model/actress in the world. The film does a wonderful job of letting Brooke tell her own story, giving us insight into what she was experiencing and thinking as she went from a young model to the center of controversy, starring as a young 12-year-old prostitute in an award-winning film. We thought we knew her, and how could you not believe it because her every move was documented in the tabloids and on the news? We didn’t realize, or even have a clue, that Brooke was dealing with an alcoholic mother, one with which she had to, at times, become the adult in the relationship. I came away from this fascinating film about the pressures of being constantly in the public eye a bigger fan of Brooke Shields the person. I loved the end of the film, where she sits around the dinner table discussing her movies and seeing the interactions between Brooke and her daughters. Remarkably, she made it out of the media spotlight alive, and against the history of child actors, she became the outstanding person/wife/mother that she is today.   My Rating: Full Price  Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields Info  Now playing on the Hulu platform. 

Forgotten Film: Affliction (1997) R  Wade (Nick Nolte) is a small-town sheriff who doesn’t like himself or his job. He drinks and smokes pot on the job, is despised by his father (James Coburn), hated by his ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt), and his daughter wants nothing to do with him. He is forced into action when a friend returns from a hunting trip with blood on his clothes and a story that makes little sense. This film is about a murder mystery that gets so complicated that Wade will question his sanity, especially when more dead bodies start showing up. The cast is top-notch, with Sissy Spacek as Wade’s girlfriend and James Coburn as Wade’s horrible, alcoholic father, making this film one to watch. Nick Nolte gives one of his best performances of a man who doubts himself at every point of his life and can’t escape the fact that his life has been wasted until now.   My Rating: Full Price  Affliction Info  Available for rent or buy on Amazon and iTunes.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Air: Floor Coverer Foreman

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Master Gardener (2022) R A horticulturist, Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate owned by a wealthy dowager, Norma (Sigourney Weaver). When Norma’s estranged grandniece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) shows up unexpectantly, Norma decides Narvel should take on Maya as his apprentice, something that Narvel does reluctantly. Maya doesn’t know that Narvel has a past about to rear its ugly head and everyone is in danger. Directed by legendary director Paul Schrader (America Gigolo, Cat People), who of late has been hit (First Reformed, The Card Counter) and miss (Dog Eat Dog). Master Gardener Info  Releasing in Mid-May 2023.

Until Next Time!