Minions & Monsters

My View:  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! I am not a fan of the Minion movies and can’t remember much about them, but I know that my experience with them is that a little of them goes a long way, and they are better suited to supporting roles in the Despicable Me films. This is why I was surprised by how much I was laughing during the first third of Minions & Monsters. Now, some of this is because the Minions find themselves in the middle of Hollywood filmmaking during the silent film period, and I loved all the references to the classic films of the time. In fact, even the opening credits give a nod to the early days of filmmaking when shots of dogs or even elephants were being filmed, and somehow the minions got to join in. Unfortunately, when we get to the main plot of the Minions trying to save their Hollywood careers by creating an actual monster, things slow down. The film is further dragged down by a group of Minions who have abandoned Hollywood and have found an alien robot to follow. The robot subplot serves no purpose in the film other than bringing it to an end. And, at least in this film, Minion talk is a combination of gibberish and Italian, which seems a little off from what they have done in the past. Still, kids will enjoy the Minions' antics, and parents will have fun during the first 30 minutes. While there are some funny moments in the closing credits, you won't miss much if you leave early.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Minions & Monsters Website Now playing in theaters nationwide

My View:  Enola Holmes 3  (2026)  PG-13  Enola Holmes 3 follows Enola (Millie Bobby Brown), the youngest of the Holmes siblings, who is about to marry Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). However, there is a problem. Enola’s more famous brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), has been kidnapped and, of course, Enola is on the case. I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and will watch anything that involves the brilliant and eccentric sleuth. I have enjoyed the Enola Holmes series as we have watched Enola grow up from a flighty girl to a young woman who is sure of her talent and her ability to gather clues. Millie Bobby Brown is always fun to watch in this role, as a boundless bundle of energy who gets excited by trying to top her older, more established brother. I just wish that this time the mystery was better. The film tends to lag, letting Enola go off to ponder the ocean or watch so many people get shot without doing much about it. As always, the film gets a boost from Helena Bonham Carter playing Enola’s firecracker of a mom, who is, in fact, a loose cannon. The film feels a little too much like Millie Bobby Brown fan fiction, with much of it centered on Enola’s wedding rather than the mystery. Still, I had fun with Enola, talking to us about her clues and desires, and taking down the bad guys with a stiff roundhouse kick. The film feels like it’s the end of the Enola Holmes series, but I wouldn’t mind going on another mystery or two. Just make sure there are more than just a few clues to follow.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Enola Holmes 3 Website  Now playing on the Netflix platfor

Indiefest:  Lockbox  (2026)  R  In Lockbox, after her mother’s death, Ellen (Carla Gugino) moves to a small town with her cousin, Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci). Trying to put their lives back together, Ellen soon realizes that something evil is in the house, threatening Winthrop. Ellen will have to risk everything to defend her cousin against an otherworldly entity. The storyline takes so long to develop that you lose interest, sapping any intrigue or scares. Carla Gugino gives the film a bit of a boost just by her presence, but the story takes forever to get going, and then when we find out the stakes, it ends with a bit of a letdown. There isn’t enough suspense in the first half of the film, other than a few jump scares and Winthrop just being creepy. By the time we reach the last third of the film, it loses itself in a complex, overly long final act that feels unworthy of the time we put into it. It’s a frustrating and unsatisfying experience that never finds the momentum that it needs.   My Rating: Cable   Lockbox Info  Now playing in select cities

Forgotten Film: The Conversation (1974) PG   Directed by Francis Ford Coppola at the height of his directorial powers, the film is about a surveillance expert, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), who uncovers a possible assassination plot, which takes him on a journey of secrecy and paranoia. Harry is a very private man who has devoted his life to electronic surveillance. He is hired to do the impossible: record a conversation between a couple (played by Cindy Williams and Fredrick Forrest) while they walk through the open, noisy Union Square. When Harry hears the woman say, “He’d kill us if he had the chance,” it sets Harry on a mission to stop the killing. Harry’s past affects his actions, as we find out that a past assignment resulted in murder. As the film progresses, Harry and the audience can’t tell whether he is now the object of surveillance, and he begins a path that can only lead to madness. The film uses cutting-edge sound design by Walter Murch, which earned him an Academy Award nomination and hit a nerve with the moviegoing public when wiretaps were at the heart of the Watergate scandal that shook the White House. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  The Conversation Info  Available on Amazon Prime and for rent on Apple TV+

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Enola Holmes 3: Daftperson

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass  (2026) R  Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass follows Gail (Zoey Deutch), who is devastated that her fiancé has slept with his “celebrity pass” Jennifer Aniston. She goes to a fortune teller, who tells her that to make things right and go on with the marriage, she must sleep with her own celebrity pass. Gail, along with her best friend, Otto (Mile Gutierrez-Riley), travels to Hollywood to find her own ‘free pass’: Jon Hamm. The film features a large cast of cameos, including “Weird Al” Yankovic, Henry Winkler, Elizabeth Banks, and, of course, Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm.  Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Website The film is in theaters on Friday, July 10, 2026.

Until Next Time!

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!