Supergirl

My View: Supergirl  (2026)  PG-13  In Supergirl, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), aka Supergirl, is a jaded young woman whose only friend is Krypto, known as Superdog. She was sent to Earth by her parents to be raised by her cousin Kal-El, known as Superman. Supergirl is about to go on an adventure that will test everything she believes in, and she is out for vengeance when her loved ones are threatened. Here is what I liked about Supergirl: Milly Alcock. We have a star in Milly, and she carries this movie on her back from start to finish. It’s a funny, smart, and impressive performance that keeps the movie moving, even as the storyline keeps putting up roadblocks for her to overcome. Alcock does a fine job in the battle sequences, though they use the green sun/Krypto storylines to make her vulnerable. What I didn’t like about this film: Jason Momoa as a character named Lobo. I have no idea why this character is in the film or why so much screen time is given over to him. I never quite figured out why he was there (something about a bounty that he never collects on), but it’s a character that you don’t like from beginning to end and just takes up space. Not enough Krypto! I hate to tell you, but the main storyline is that our favorite troublemaker, Krypto, gets hit with a poison arrow early in the film, and that’s the rescue mission that Supergirl is on: find the bad guy who did it and get the antidote from around his neck. Instead of Krypton, we get a newly orphaned young girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is out for revenge but mostly just gets in Supergirl’s way. And finally, we spend way too much time on Supergirl’s origin story. Sure, her story differs from Superman; she knew her parents, unlike Superman, and misses her family and homeworld, but the story goes on for far too long. Supergirl is kind of like seeing a band with a great lead singer but without the songs to set them apart. I enjoyed Supergirl, but only because I had fun watching Milly Alcock in the role of a pissed-off, loner girl who can beat up a bunch of bad guys while still drunk. I just wanted more and a whole lot less of Momoa smoking what I guess is an outer-space vape.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Supergirl Website Now playing in theaters nationwide

My View: Jackass: Best and Last  (2026)  R  Jackass: Best and Last follows Johnny Knoxville and the gang as they once again do stunts that most of us would never do.  In my review of Jackass Forever (which I gave a rating of Full Price), I stated that I was sure that would be the last Jackass Knoxville would do after almost dying shooting that one. Well, maybe he should have quit, as this is a weak addition to the series. Now, diehard fans are going to love seeing some of the old shows and some stunts that never made it to air (including one of the first ones that got them into real trouble with the police), but the new stunts are, for the most part, pretty tame and at times way too gross even for Jackass standards. I wasn’t happy that Rachel Wolfson, the first woman to join the cast in 2022, is mostly on the sidelines, only laughing and not participating in the stunts. I will say the film starts with a stunt from back in 1998 that I don’t know how Knoxville had the guts to do, involving a handgun, because he should be dead. However, most of the new stunts don’t deliver the laughs that the old ones do, I think, because the guys can’t afford the hospital bills anymore. There are a bunch of outtakes during the closing credits, but there isn’t anything new or memorable. Overall, while longtime fans may enjoy the nostalgia for the old days, this entry doesn’t deliver the same punch as the past films.   My Rating: Cable  Jackass: Best and Last Website    Now playing in theaters 

Indiefest:  Couture  (2025)  R  Couture is about an American filmmaker, Maxine (Angelina Jolie), in town to make a film for Paris Fashion Week, who gets a phone call from her doctor that shatters her world. Couture is a film that spreads itself too thin, trying to tell too many stories without giving us much in return. We have Maxine, a soon-to-be-divorced mom who is a struggling indie horror film director. Ada (Anyier Anei), a Sudanese refugee who is getting her big break as the new fresh face to open a fashion show, is going to star in a short film that Maxine is directing to open Fashion Week. Anele (Ella Rumpf) is a makeup artist who wants to be a writer, and Christine (Garance Marillier) is a designer who is getting her big break to create the dress Ada will wear to open the show. Both Anele's and Christine's characters could easily be background characters, as they bring almost nothing to the storyline beyond being hardworking and creative. The real story is Maxine’s journey, as she is away from her daughter, going through a continuous divorce, and we soon find out that she has cancer and will have to put everything on hold, including her daughter, to fight it. Jolie has the star power that makes you want to keep following her character, but instead, we keep going back to Ada trying to fit in with her fellow models, Christine falling asleep on the dress that she is working on, and Anele getting discouraged over her writing. The only real drama in this entire film is whether Maxine will come to terms with the cancer diagnosis; the rest seems slight compared to that, including Ada hiding that she has sprained her ankle, and whether it will affect her runway walk. The film also squanders some scenes between Jolie and Louis Garrel, who plays Maxine’s grumpy cinematographer and becomes a friend and love interest to Maxine as they work together on the film. I think filmmaker Alice Winocour, who gained unprecedented access to Paris Fashion Week, tried too hard to give us an overview of the event rather than focusing on the one story we most want to explore.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Couture Website  Now playing in select theaters

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see when it first came out but have seen recently):  Swapped  (2026) PG  Swapped is about Ollie, a woodland creature called a Pookoo, who is constantly being hunted by Ivy, a Javan, a carnivorous bird. After Ollie sets a trap for Ivy, they both fall into a magical plant and accidentally swap bodies, forcing these two natural enemies to work together to survive and find a way to change back. This is one of those Netflix films I wish had been released in theaters because the animation is so beautiful. All the animals look as though a mad scientist has designed them (in a good way), and Ollie is adorable, especially with his Conan-like coif. I also loved the world-building, with ecosystems being destroyed by a truly evil bad guy in the form of a wolf that is part fire. The voice cast works well with some chemistry between Michael B. Jordan as Ollie and Juno Temple as Ivy. Tracy Morgan steals the movie, standing out as a lovable but rather dumb fish that helps our two heroes out, with always hilarious results. While its narrative is pretty simple in the body-swap genre, the film will keep kids interested, and adults won’t mind the amazing scenery and fast-paced storytelling with the emphasis on understanding and family.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Swapped Website Now playing on the Netflix platform

Forgotten Film: Seven Days in May (1964)   An unpopular President, Jordan Lyman (Fredric March) has entered the United States into a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Air Force General, James Scott (Burt Lancaster), is a vocal opponent of the treaty and is convinced that, as soon as the U.S. disarms, the Soviet Union will attack. A Joint Staff member, Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), discovers that General Scott and others are planning to take over the government. This is a brilliant and intense film directed by John Frankenheimer, whose poster even suggests that not only could this happen in the 1960s, but it could happen in the future. It’s a film where egos clash, dirty tricks are unleashed, and democracy is on a time limit, where no one knows who to trust. There are some outstanding performances, including Fredric March as the overwhelmed President who is convinced he is right. There is an amazing scene near the end of the film when the two adversaries go at it, both convinced their view is the right one. Seven Days in May is a sit on the edge of your seat, thrill ride of a film, written by Rod Serling, that outdoes just about any Twilight Zone episode because, unlike most of his science fiction TV shows, this could actually happen.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Seven Days in May Website     Available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Supergirl: Flight Arranger

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:   Minions & Monsters  (2026) PG  Minions & Monsters takes place in the 1920s, when the guys, who have stumbled into stardom, are going to make a monster movie in Hollywood. To make a movie, they need a monster, so the guys decide to summon an actual monster. Not their best idea! The film introduces two new Minions, James and Henry and is directed by the franchise co-creator, Pierre Coffin.  Minions & Monsters Website The movie opens in theaters on Wednesday, July 1st

Until Next Time! 

Mike's Fearless Oscar Picks

 

As always these are who I think are going to win on Sunday night, not who I think should win.  If I have a Spoiler listed, it's a someone/film that I think has a chance to win.

Winners in blue!  I got 21 out of 24.

Best Picture:  One Battle After Another               Spoiler: Sinners

Best Director:     Paul Thomas Anderson (One  Battle After Another)                             

Best Actress:   Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

Best Actor:  Michael B. Jordan (Sinners                                      Spoiler:   Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme)

Best Supporting Actress:  Amy Madigan (Weapons)                 Spoiler:  Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)

Best Supporting Actor:  Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)

                                                                                             Spoiler: Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value)

Best Adapted Screenplay:  One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay:   Sinners   

Best Casting:  One Battle After Another                                    Spoiler:    Sinners                    

Best Cinematography:  One Battle After Another                Spoiler: Sinners

Best Costume Design:  Frankenstein

Best Film Editing:   One Battle After Another                                           Spoiler:  Sinners

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:   Frankenstein

Best Production Design:   Frankenstein                                     Spoiler:   Sinners

Best Score:  Sinners

Best Song:   Golden (KPop Demon Hunters)                                    

Best Sound:   F1                                            Spoiler: Sinners

Best Visual Effects:  Avatar: Fire and Ash                             Spoiler: F1

Best Animated Feature:   KPop Demon Hunters

Best Documentary Feature:  The Perfect Neighbor                Spoiler:  Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Best International Film:   Sentimental Value                      Spoiler:   The Secret Agent

Best Animated Short:    Butterfly                      Spoiler: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Best Documentary Short:  All the Empty Rooms                Spoiler: Armed Only with a Camera

Best Live Action Short:  Two People Exchanging Saliva                  Spoiler:  A Friend of Dorothy 

Sinners

My View:  Sinners  (2025)  R  In Sinners, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) are trying to leave their troubled past behind and return to their hometown to open a dance hall. They soon discover that their hometown has changed, and a great evil is waiting to welcome them back. Back in 2013, filmmaker Ryan Coogler hit us right between the eyes with the outstanding Fruitvale Station, starring an up-and-coming young actor named Michael B. Jordan. Since then, Coogler has given us Creed and the two Black Panther films. In what is his most original and best film to date, we now get a vampire thriller that has roots in everything from legendary blues singers, prohibition, and Jim Crow to even Irish folk music. With a huge nod to Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino’s 1996 film From Dusk Till Dawn, the film follows twins Smoke and Stack, played by the brilliant Michael B. Jordan, as they come back from spending time in Chicago, where they may have stolen a whole lot of money and booze from the mob.They are back to open a blues joint with some locals’ help. Along the way, they gather a cast of characters to make their endeavor a success, including a local blue legend in Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), their cousin, Sammie (Miles Caton in his feature film debut), a budding blues singer/guitarist, and a couple of former flames of the twins in Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a love of Stacks that ended badly, and Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Smoke’s one true love. Both relationships with the twins have history and baggage that hangs over the two couples like a huge dark cloud. Coogler spends the first hour giving us a clear understanding of the history that follows each of the characters, giving us insight into how they function in this world of gambling, song, stolen whiskey, and even religion. The film’s second half is the opening of the juke joint, which is a rousing success, until a trio of white musicians want to join the party, and the twins tell them to find somewhere else to party. However, we already know that these musicians aren’t there to make music but are to turn everyone they can into vampires, and it’s up to the twins and a few of their friends to stop them. Coogler uses this backdrop to tackle everything from lost love to race in America while making an entertaining and bloody horror film where the odds of the twins and their friends surviving the night look pretty grim. Sinners is a film that explores the strength of family, religion, and music and how the monsters that show up in the middle of the night might be worse than you ever thought. The action sequences are fast, bloody, and sometimes humorous, as the body count keeps rising.  Something has to be said about the performance of Miles Caton as Sammie. His singing and blues guitar playing is joyful, brilliant and moving. When he plays and sings, he commands the screen and you can't take your eyes off of him. Don’t be afraid of the two-hour and seventeen-minute run length, as the film moves at such a fast pace and instantly puts you in the middle of the Twins world that you will be sorry that the film has ended as soon as it does. So grab a beer, sit down to listen to some great blues music, and maybe get up to dance a bit. But here’s a bit of advice: if anyone asks if they can come in to join you, maybe see if they like garlic or have trouble with holy water. Just a suggestion that might come in handy. Catch it on the biggest screen you can, and stay through all the credits, as there are a couple of bonus scenes worth staying for, including a tremendous cameo. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  Sinners Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

My View:  The Wedding Banquet  (2025)  R The Wedding Banquet is the story of two couples: Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min (Han Gi-chan), Angela (Kelly Marie Tran), and Lee (Lily Gladstone). Min needs a green card and strikes a deal with Lee, who is trying to get pregnant via the costly IVF procedure. Min will be responsible for paying for the IVF procedure if Lee marries Min. Things are going great until Min’s grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) unexpectedly comes to the U.S. to throw a lavish wedding for her grandson. What seemed so simple is now one big lie that could fall apart at any minute. The Wedding Banquet is a remake of the 1993 Ang Lee Oscar-nominated film of the same name, and I think I enjoyed this film more than the original. What makes this film work so well is the relationship between Angela and Lee. Angela is trying to get pregnant via IVF, and they are running out of time and money to make it happen. The chemistry between Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran is off the charts as a couple that is totally in love, but Angela has trouble expressing it, along with a lot of other feelings. Angela’s best friend, Chris, is also in a relationship that has a few problems of its own. Chris and Min are in love but are also running out of time, as Min’s visa is about to expire. To make matters worse, Min’s family wants him back in Korea to take over the family business. All this sets up the wedding between two people who love other people. Can they pull the wedding off when Min’s grandmother comes to oversee the wedding of her only grandson? The movie was warm, funny, and unexpected, with a predictable ending that still surprised me.  My Rating: Full Price  The Wedding Banquet Website  Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  The Ugly Stepsister  (2025)  The Ugly Stepsister is about Elvira (Lea Myren), who has enrolled in a finishing school to get her ready for the ball, where she is her family’s hope to meet a young prince and marry into wealth. The problem is that Elvira is competing with her beautiful stepsister (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) in a society where beauty is to be achieved, even if it means extreme measures to attain it. The film's focus is not on Cinderella, but on the ugly stepsister who will do anything to get the Prince of her dreams. Unfortunately for her, it’s one long nightmare as her mother puts her down right and left while financing a nose job (done with a chisel and hammer). Elvira does go through a metamorphosis, but it’s all done with surgical tricks and other nasty procedures to make the ugly duckling look good (even if it seems it will be temporary). This Norwegian film alternates between grossness and a sense of pity for Elvira. The Ugly Stepsister is a very graphic and sometimes very uncomfortable look at what a price beauty plays in both the physical and psyche of a woman’s well-being. I have a feeling that the original tellers of this tale would be thrilled with this version and not the Disney sugar and spice version we know better. This tale, which is sometimes amusing but always disturbing, belongs in the body horror hall of fame. Although I enjoyed the film, it requires a strong stomach to handle it, and I won't likely watch it again. The clock has stuck twelve, the coach has turned back into a pumpkin, and Elvira is not doing well. And Cinderalla, once again, gets her prince.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Ugly Stepsister Info Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  Eephus  (2024)  An adult men’s recreational baseball game is played for the last time on a field that is about to be bulldozed and turned into an Elementary school. Having played many rec softball games in my adulthood, I could relate to this film, which perfectly pictures what it’s like to play a game where the stakes are if you can make it through a whole game without anyone getting hurt or too drunk. Eephus is a film in which not a lot happens as the game keeps going, even when it gets dark, but we get to know the cast of characters and are there for all the talk and sometimes dramatics that can go on in a game between adult men who want to spend a couple of hours playing a game. And that’s all this film is: a loving look at a game between two groups of men who spend some time playing baseball and complaining about their lives or celebrating them. Hey, any film that has legendary weirdo baseball pitcher Bill 'Spaceman' Lee in its cast is all right with me.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Eephus Website  Now playing in select theaters and is available On-Demand. 

Indiefest:  The President’s Wife  (2023) The President’s Wife is about Bernadette Chirac (Catherine Deneuve), who has always stayed out of the spotlight as her husband’s political career always took precedence. Now that her husband is President of France, Bernadette decides it’s time to change her image, and she is about to take the country by storm. Based loosely on a true story, Catherine Deneuve shines in a role that fits perfectly, much like the outfits she wears in the 2nd half of this film (Bernadette has a makeover, courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld). The film showcases Deveuve’s ability to create a character that has both charisma and a sense of humor that comes out every time Bernadette is allowed to speak her mind. The film plays on the notion that being popular with the press and trendy can make a difference in politics. Deveuve makes Bernadett a woman who knew more than she let on, someone who became tired of staying out of the spotlight and decided to make a difference, even if her husband didn’t know she could. Deveuve's performance makes the film feel like a fine French wine, with a bold flavor that grows stronger as it is savored.  My Rating: Full Price  The President's Wife Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see in theatres but have seen recently):  Bad Shabbos  (2024)  Bad Shabbos is about an engaged interfaith couple who are about to have their parents meet for the first time over a Shabbat dinner. The only problem is that there is a dead body in their apartment, and the parents are due any minute. Bad Shabbos is a fun movie that needs a few more laughs to push it over the top. The film starts out with a bang and ends with a whimper with a conclusion that seems a little too easy and pat for all the trouble the film puts its characters through. There are some funny setups, one with a piece of bread that needs to be seen. The cast works hard at making the film funny, with some outstanding scenes with David Paymer as the Dad who thinks he can solve any problem with a self-help book and Method Man as an ever-helpful doorman who really wants to be part of the family, maybe too much so. I wish Bad Shabbos had a few more laughs and didn't have an ending that falls flat (that’s a pun you will get if you see the film). Even so, it's an enjoyable time with a family that is more than a little eccentric.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Bad Shabbos Website The film will soon be available to rent/buy. 

Forgotten Film:  Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)  Chu (Sihung Lung) is a master chef and widower with three adult daughters who all still live at home. The eldest daughter, Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei-Yang), is a chemistry teacher who hasn’t dated for 9 years after a horrible breakup. Middle daughter, Jia-Chien (Chien-lien Wu), is an airline company executive who is driven and hard-working. The youngest Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang), is twenty and works at a Wendy’s who has her sights on a young man who is dating a friend. The film uses the elaborate dinners that the family has together to explore the dynamics of the three daughters and their relationships with each other and the men in their lives. It’s a fascinating film that is, at times, a love letter to food while also a funny and warm film that explores how people see the world in different ways.   My Rating: Full Price  Eat Drink Man Woman Info The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Sinners:  Twins Consultant

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  Another Simple Favor  (2025) R  Another Simple Favor takes place five years after the events that put Emily (Blake Lively) in prison. Now out, Emily and Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), who is now a successful author and part-time private detective. The two travel to Capri, Italy, for Emily’s wedding to a wealthy Italian businessman. As usual, trouble finds the two, including murder and lots of intrigue. This is a sequel to the 2018 film A Simple Favor, which was also directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids (2011), Spy (2015)).  Another Simple Favor Website    Premiering on Amazon Prime on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

Until Next Time!

Creed III

My View: Creed III (2023) PG-13  Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), over the past seven years, has gotten everything he ever dreamed of, with both a career and a family life thriving. However, when a childhood friend (Jonathan Majors) shows up unexpectantly, the past rears its ugly head, and Adonis will have to fight for not only his career but for his life. I loved the first Creed film and feel it is one of the best boxing movies of the genre, right up there with the first Rocky film. The second Creed film was a disappointment that had Sylvester Stallone’s fingerprints all over it. While not on the level of the first Creed, I am happy to say that this third film is still a fine boxing film with an outstanding performance by Jonathan Majors as the bad guy back from Adonis’s past to create a problem that Adonis can’t avoid or deny. Michael B. Jordan directs this film, and I love his emphasis on the relationship between Adonis and his daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent), and how Adonis wants to be the father that he never got. Tessa Thompson is back as Adonis’s wife, Bianca, who, much like Adrian was for Rocky, is Adonis’s sounding board and lets him know when Adonis is going off on the wrong path. Majors is the best thing about this film, a man who, no matter how much he tells you, you know, is a dangerous man with a chip on his shoulder that wants what he thinks has been taken away from him. Every time Majors shows up on the screen, there is a quiet feeling of evil, which explodes into fury when his plan is revealed. The fight sequences are well done, but the scenes between Majors and Jordan before the film’s final fight spark the film and make it work. While not on par with Creed or Rocky, this is still a film to see.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Creed III Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

My View: Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre (2023) R  Special agent Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) and his team blackmail one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett), into helping them take down an evil arms dealer (Hugh Grant) who has his hands on a deal new weapon that could disrupt the world’s balance of power. If you are a Jason Statham fan, you will enjoy this film, though most of his fighting sequences are done in close quarters and over pretty quickly. Statham isn’t the reason to see this spy romp; It’s the work of Hugh Grant and josh Hartnett that makes this film so enjoyable to watch. Hartnett is hilarious as the dim and ego-driven actor who gets blackmailed into the scheme to infiltrate the inner circle of an international arms dealer who is too slick to be caught. Hartnett milks every scene with an awkward grace that shows some natural comedic timing. However, the film’s real star is Hugh Grant, doing his best Michael Caine impression as an arms dealer who thinks he is the smartest man in the room (and he just might be). Grant’s arms dealer has one chink in his armor. He is a huge Danny Francesco fan, so much so that as soon as Danny shows up, he can not help but invite the star to his private getaway, even though a major deal is about to go down. Grant is slimy while also being a bit of a charmer, making it a blast to watch him chew up scenery in every scene he is in. Operation Fortune is a Guy Ritchie action film with plenty of flash, with little thought to details, but Grant and Hartnett will make you forget that pesky plot and just have some fun.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Operation Fortune Website  Now playing in theatres nationwide.

Indiefest: Hunt Her, Kill Her (2022)  Karen (Natalie Terrazzino) is a lone night janitor in a warehouse on the first night of an overnight cleaning job. She finds herself in an unexpected fight for her life when a group of masked intruders break into the warehouse. Can she survive the night, and why are they determined to kill her? This is a film that won a bunch of horror film festival awards, and it deserves it. Unlike many films of this nature, Karen isn’t some former army ranger with a very particular set of skills. Instead, Karen is an ordinary mom stuck in a dangerous situation and is trying to stay alive from a gang of masked men who want her dead. Hunt Her, Kill Her is a thrill ride with some cool moments, including a bad guy death that you won’t soon forget. This is a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you hope and pray that Karen can somehow get out of the warehouse alive. While the film doesn’t quite finish what it starts, Hunt Her, Kill Her is a fun ride with a hero that we can all root for.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Hunt Her, Kill Her Website  Now playing in select theatres. 

Indiefest: A Little White Lie (2023) R  Shriver (Michael Shannon) is a down-on-his-luck handyman who has never read a book in his life. One day, he is mistaken for a famous reclusive writer who has been in hiding for 20 years. Invited to attend a college literacy festival, Shriver decides to show up and is soon surrounded by fans, including an English professor (Kate Hudson), who shows more than just a passing interest in him. How long can he keep the lie going? This is one of those films you want to love or even like, but it never finds its footing. I love Michael Shannon, and he tries to bring us to understand why this guy would attempt to fool everyone at a book festival, but the film is lost almost from the start. There isn’t any chemistry between Shannon and Hudson, making the reason for Shriver to continue the ruse seem pointless. The film has a twist that is easy to figure out and an ending that seems too much like a full-out comedy, which this isn’t. I have a feeling that the book this is based on is much better than this disappointing rom-com. Or maybe it’s supposed to be a satire. Either way, it doesn’t work.  My Rating; Cable   A Little White Lie Info  Now playing in select theatres. 

My View: The Donor Party  (2023)   Jaclyn (Malin Akerman) has just gone through a messy divorce and years of bad online dating. Jaclyn realizes she wants to become a mother without a relationship and will do anything to get her baby. Jaclyn and her best friends decide to get her pregnant at a party with someone she doesn’t know. This is a comedy that doesn’t work on many levels. First, Jaclyn wants to have sex with three men on the same night hoping someone will get her pregnant, which is just wrong, but she goes for it. Second, the jokes are few and far between, making the film feel uncomfortable from almost the start. And finally, I didn’t like any character in this film, other than Jaclyn’s best friend Molly (Erinn Hayes), who tries to talk Jaclyn out of this idea but fails. The film feels like most of the dialogue was ad-libbed, which has become a thing for smaller films to do and in this case, it just doesn’t work. The Donor Party is a comedy of errors but the error was every making this film.   My Rating: Cable  The Donor Party Info  Now playing in select theatres and On Demand. 

 

Forgotten Film: Paradise Road (1997) R  A group of women trying to escape the Japanese invasion of Singapore in 1942 are caught by the Japanese after their transport ship is sunk. Stuck in a POW camp for the duration of the war, the women turn to one thing that can bring hope to their lives: music. The film is based on a true story, and with the cast of Glenn Close, Frances McDormand, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Julianna Margulies, and Jennifer Ehle, this should have been a magnificent film. Instead, it’s only worth watching for the performances of Glenn Close, as a British musician who starts the choir, and Cate Blanchett as a nurse who tries to keep the women going. Close is brilliant as the fiery Adrienne, who sees music as a way to escape the horrors of war. In one of her first feature film roles, Blanchett shows us a glimpse into what she will become as an actor, giving a moving performance that brings the horror of war to the front. I just wish the script had given this cast more to work with. Paradise Road isn’t a bad film and is worth watching for the performances; it just should have been better.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Paradise Road Info  Available for rent on Amazon or iTunes.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre: Supervising Colorist

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Renfield (2023) R  Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) has spent centuries doing the bidding of his master and would love to find a way out. After a chance meeting where he saves a feisty, perennially angry traffic cop (Awkwafina), he decides to find a way to escape and live a normal life. One problem, his master is Dracula (Nicolas Cage). I can’t wait to see what Cage will do with this role.   Renfield Website Coming to theatres in Mid-April. 

Until Next Time!

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until Next Time!

1917

My View: 1917  (2019) R   Two young British privates (Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay) during the First World War are given what most likely is an impossible task: to deliver a message deep behind enemy lines that will stop a massacre of 1,600 British soldiers. One of the best films of just 2019 but one of the best films of the decade. Shot and edited as if the film is one long take, the film is a masterpiece in film editing. It’s a roller-coaster ride as we follow the two young soldiers on what very quickly looks to become either an hopeless task to complete at the least and, more than likely, a suicide mission where both men will die in vain. You are immersed rapidly into a deadly and rotten war as our two heroes are given almost impossible hurdles to overcome, all the while the clock is ticking. The film is breathtaking in its scope as we see up close the horrors of WWI and the effect it had on the men who had to fight it. The film will keep you on the edge of your seat, and it’s almost two-hour length will fly by. Please go see this in a theatre, as both the score and the cinematography are breathtaking. The two lead actors, Chapman and MacKay, are outstanding, giving us an everyman feel to their portrayals of two British boys trying to save their fellow soldiers from a horrible death. I gave 1917 my top vote in all three of my critic groups end of the year voting over some other incredible films of 2019.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again     1917 Website

My View: Like a Boss (2020) R   Two friends, Mel (Rose Byrne) and Mia (Tiffany Haddish) start a beauty company together. The problem is that Mel is the practical one, and Mia can only see the lavish lifestyle that she thinks she deserves. In walks Claire (Salma Hayek) who wants to invest in their company and make all their dreams come true, that is, until it turns into their nightmare. The only thing I can say positive about this film is that it is mercifully a short 83 minutes long. I felt sorry for Byrne and Haddish as they gamely gave it everything they had, but the story is so bad, there is no way that they could save this horrible film. The plot is paper-thin, and the two lifelong friends turn on each other in a blink of an eye. Salma Hayek gives an incredibly horrific over-the-top performance, and she is not helped by an overacting Karan Soni, who plays her gofer / yes man. The ending seems to have written by a group of 8-year-olds, and if I ever hear the classic song 'Proud Mary' sung by Byrne and Haddish again (it's their go-to Karaoke tune), I know that I have been sent to hell and not heaven.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again    Like a Boss Website

Indiefest:  Just Mercy  (2019)  PG -13  A young Harvard grad lawyer, Bryan (Michael B. Jordan), could have the pick of any job in the country. Still, he picks Alabama to set up a law firm specializing in advocating for death row inmates he feels to have been wrongly condemned. He meets and defends Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx), a man convicted of a notorious murder of an 18-year-old-girl. Led by powerful performances by Jordan and Foxx, this earnest film, while not quite the home run you want it to be, is a good film with the message that every person deserves a chance at justice. The film tugs at the heartstrings but never feels overpowering, letting its message and plot slowly develop to its conclusion. Fans of Brie Larson will be a little disappointed as she isn’t given much to do, other than play the cheerleader for Jordan’s determined lawyer. The film doesn’t break any new ground, but the fact that this film is based on a real story brings home enough of an impact to make it an interesting movie to watch.   My Rating: Full Price    Just Mercy Website

My View: Underwater (2020) PG-13   A crew of aquatic researchers are 7 miles underwater on the Ocean floor when an earthquake devastates subterranean laboratory. They soon discover that they have more than the ocean seabed to fear. A great deal of this film takes place in very dark and murky water with the cast in very bulky, outer-space style diving suits. This means that a great deal of the action is tough to see, and the cast, speaking into their suit’s communication system, are at times incredibly hard to understand. I have a feeling that the film was much longer, and the studio made the filmmakers cut about 30 minutes because some of the transitions from one scene to another are almost unexplainable. Divers complain about not have enough oxygen, and then, in the next scene, they are fine, and sometimes we seem to time travel a bit, as the crew, walking on the ocean floor, moving at incredible speed and distance, while at other times they struggle to go a few feet. Other than a few newspaper clippings in the opening credits, there isn’t much setup, so we never really get to understand what the crew was doing in the laboratory and what their relationships between each other are. The ending feels rushed, and all the scares in this film are the ‘jump out of the dark’ style, which gets old very quickly. I hope Kristen Stewart got a big paycheck for this film, because she looks uncomfortable throughout the film, almost as uncomfortable as I was watching the movie.   My Rating: Cable    Underwater Website

Indiefest: Days of Rage: The Rolling Stones’ Road to Altamont (2020)   At the end of the 60s, the Rolling Stones had become the voice of the new era. It all came crashing down at a rock concert that changed their lives forever. Days of Rage is an excellent and informative documentary on what led to a death at a free rock concert. I loved all the news footage as the film shows us how and why this concert was almost doomed to fail from the start. People remember The British invasion, but what this film points out is that the Stones were, at the time, almost the anti-Beatles, striving to be something new and different from all the other British bands to tour the states in the late 60s. The film gives us great insight into why and how the outlaw biker gang, the Hells Angels, became the security for the concert and just how things got so quickly out of hand. The film has some tremendous classic Stones live concert footage that fans of the group will want to see. I thought I knew about what happened at Altamont but, because of this film, I have a new understanding of what went down that fateful night.   My Rating: Full Price    Days of Rage Info

Forgotten Film: The Others (2001)  PG-13  Grace (Nicole Kidman) moves to a mansion on Jersey with her two children while waiting for her husband to return from the Second World War. Her two children have a disease that means they cannot be exposed to sunlight. Due to her children’s affliction, she has created a series of rules that must be followed, or the children could be harmed. The home and her children become too much for her, so she hires a group of servants who soon learn that breaking the rules will have some unexpected consequences. I love this film, how it slowly, darkly builds the tension without having to resort to tricks or easy scares. Kidman gives one of her best performances as the mother who finds herself in a highly disturbing situation, one that she may not be able to handle. I can’t give away much more of the plot without ruining the movie, but let me say this, it’s one of the best uses of suspense in a film and will probably shock you a few times with the twists and turns the plot takes.   My Rating: Full Price    The Others Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Underwater: Legacy Suit Lighting Technician

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Mulan (2020)   A young Chinese maiden (Yifei Liu) disguises herself as a male warrior when her ailing father is called into the army to protect the country from the Huns. I loved the animated film, and this live-action movie looks terrific.    Mulan Website

Until Next Time!