Avatar: Fire and Ash

My View:  Avatar: Fire and Ash  (2025)   PG-13  In Avatar: Fire and Ash, Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) are trying to deal with the aftereffects of Neteyam’s death. Their status in the Metkayina clan is shaky, and Neytiri is openly shunning Spider (Jack Champion) because of Neteyam’s death. A new threat emerges: the Mangkwan clan (Ash people), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). They ally with Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who promises them weapons if they help him kidnap his son, Spider. Here is a quote from near the end of my review of Avatar: The Way of the Water (2022): “You will have a sense near the film’s end that we have been here before, and you would be right. I hope that for the next Avatar film, James Cameron spends a little more time in the writer’s room and less time in the special effects room.” Well, he didn’t, and it’s more of the same. If you are a fan of the Avatar films, then you will enjoy this film. If, like me, you were disappointed by the plot holes and slow-developing storyline of the second film, then you will also, like me, think, ‘Oh, it’s more of the same.” This is another over 3-hour experience where the visuals are once again stunning, but the storyline is weak, and the film doesn’t really move until the last 30 minutes, when the final battle is going on. For most of the film, I kept thinking, I don’t really care about this family and their fight for survival. I did enjoy the new bad guy in Varang, played with a lot of evil fun by Oona Chaplin, but I grew weary of Spider, the son of Quaritch, who seems to speak only in one-word expletives. I will admit the final battle is engaging, and I finally cared what happened, but, boy, did it take a long time to get there. If James Cameron has grown tired of this world and wants to move on, this film ends on a note that leaves the series feeling complete. However, I have a word of warning. I hear that they have already shot about 40 percent of the next film, and there are a couple of loose ends that could come back in the next one. I kind of hope we are done and Cameron can find another world or characters to thrill us with. Blue was never my color anyway.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Avatar: Fire and Ash Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  The Housemaid  (2025)  R  In The Housemaid, Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is a young woman with a troubled past who, against her instincts, takes a job as a live-in housemaid for a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar) and their young daughter. The seemingly perfect life of the family unravels as Millie discovers dark secrets hidden just below the surface. I like Paul Figg as a director, but his last two films, Jackpot! (2024), which was horrible, and Another Simple Favor (2025), which was nowhere near the first Simple Favor film, were not a lot of fun to watch. I am pleased to say that you can’t say this about The Housemaid. I saw it with an audience filled with fans of the book by Freida McFadden, and we both had a blast watching Amanda Seyfried have the time of her life, going nuts on screen in a role that has to be seen to be believed. I had wondered why Seyfried, who just might get an Oscar nomination for her role in the soon-to-be-released The Testament of Ann Lee, would take this role, but then I saw the film. Seyfried gets to chew up scenery with relish, and it’s a delight to watch someone have so much fun going off the wall crazy. Sydney Sweeney, who seems to be in just about everything, does an admirable job of playing the girl with a troubled past who is just trying to survive in a household where the rules keep changing by the minute. Brandon Skenar, hot off the 1923 TV series, is fine as the handsome put-upon husband, but this is Seyfried’s film, and she is front and center for it. The twists are fun (though I figured one out about a third of the way in), and the film keeps the tension ramped up all the way to the end. I talked to a few of the book club audience members who saw the film with me, and they loved it and were happy with the minor changes the film made from the book. So, make yourself a cocktail, but you might want to down it because you are about to go on a rollercoaster ride on the suburbia crazy train.  My Rating:  Full Price  The Housemaid Website  Now playing in theaters

My View:  Is This Thing On?  (2025)  R   Is This Thing On? follows Alex (Will Arnett), who is going through a rough time with a marriage that is unraveling. He is separating from his wife, Tess (Laura Dern), and their two kids, getting a small apartment in the city. Alex wanders into a comedy club and decides to try his hand at stand-up. It seems that the only place he can feel alive and make sense of his life is doing standup. This is a movie about a marriage that has lost its steam, its momentum, and both partners know it's true. So Alex is looking for something to fill the void, and by chance, he finds stand-up comedy. Now, if you are going to this film hoping for a laugh-out-loud comedy, this isn’t your film. Alex’s comedy is a slow-burn type, delivered with a world-weary tone, where he doesn’t tell jokes; he just offers observations about his life, which is crumbling around him. Arnett and Dern have a chemistry between them that makes this film feel real. We believe that they once loved each other but have grown apart, especially now that their kids aren’t little anymore and don’t need as much attention. This is a story without a bad guy, no one to blame, but about two people trying to be civil with each other during a trying time, while also exploring life without each other. The more I thought about this film, the more I enjoyed the experience of spending time with two adults who cared but knew it was time to move on.   My Rating: Full Price  Is This Thing On? Website Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  La Grazia  (2025)   R   La Grazia tells the story of the President of Italy, Mariano De Santis (Toni Servillo), a staunch Catholic who faces moral crises over pending euthanasia legislation and, at the same time, considers pardoning two people who killed their partners, all the while grappling with his late wife’s infidelity during his final months in office. Add in the fact that Mariano thinks that his best friend was the person who slept with his wife 40 years ago. This is a fascinating and well-acted character study of a man still grieving for his wife as he confronts the fact that he has grown old and has only six more months in office. This is a man who doesn’t make rash decisions but has been too cautious his whole life and now has to move on. Toni Servillo is perfect in the role of the President who secretly (sort of) loves rap, smokes one cigarette a day (because he only has one lung because of cancer) and his main sounding board and assistant is his daughter, who has devoted her life to her father and wants him to sign the euthanasia legislation that she has worked so hard to get passed. This is a man who values the law above everything and everyone else, but can’t even make a decision when his beloved horse is sick and needs to be put down. The film is full of twists, and the cinematography is beautiful and sometimes inventive. I think you will be surprised at what decisions the President makes by the end of his term. And be sure to stay for a mid-credit scene that is quite a joy to stay for.  My Rating:  Full Price   La Grazia Website Now playing in select cities 

Indiefest: The Secret Agent (2025) R   In 1977, Marcelo (Wagner Moura) lives in Brazil and is a technology expert fleeing a mysterious past. He moves back to his hometown to be near his son, but he soon realizes that the city is far from the refuge he seeks. The Secret Agent is a film you have to stick with, because it is so layered that it takes a while to get to know the people in the story, what Marcelo is up to, and why. Once you learn his story and what he is searching for, you fully understand the stakes of the film and of Marcelo. The film perfectly captures the paranoia of the time in Brazil. It’s a warranted paranoia, and the film ramps up the tension as Marcelo gets closer to the answers he needs, but so do the long tentacles of the regime. Wagner Moura gives a moving and complex performance as a man who knows the long arm of the government is closing in, but he must continue, even if it means his dreams become nightmares. The Secret Agent is a film whose opening sequence becomes more meaningful and menacing as it goes along, and that is rare.  My Rating: Full Price  The Secret Agent Website  Now playing in select theaters

Forgotten Film:  Chicken with Plums  (2011)  PG-13 A violinist in 1950s Tehran loses his love of music and decides to die. Over the next 8 days, we see how he and his family deal with his decision. As the man slowly dies, the film shows how he made this decision through a series of flashbacks that trace the major events of his life. This is a beautiful film, and it’s one that I wasn’t really liking, that is, until the last fifteen minutes, when everything we have seen earlier in the film suddenly fits together. It was then that I fell in love with this film. My Rating: Full Price  Chicken with Plums Website  Available for rent/buy on Amazon

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Avatar: Fire and Ash: Practice Nurses

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Mercy (2026)  PG-13  In the near future, a system is implemented that, if you are arrested for a capital crime, you go before an A.I. Judge, and you have only 90 minutes to prove your innocence. Detective Raymond (Chris Pratt) wakes up and is accused of killing his wife. He now has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the A.I. Judge (Rebecca Ferguson).   Mercy Website  The film will be in theaters on Friday, January 23, 2026

Until Next Time!

Ella McCay

My View: Ella McCay  (2025) PG-13 Ella McCay follows Ella (Emma Mackey), who is juggling life as a 34-year-old lieutenant governor with a family that is falling apart. To make matters worse, the state’s longtime incumbent governor (Albert Brooks) has suddenly accepted a cabinet position in the upcoming administration, leaving Ella as the new governor. Writer/director James L. Brooks has won 3 well-deserved Oscars and has brought us some great films, including writing my favorite Burt Reynolds film, Starting Over. Add in Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News (a huge favorite of mine), As Good as it Gets, and another favorite of mine, Spanglish. So I was excited when it was announced that after 15 years, he was writing/directing a new film. So after walking out of the screening of his new film, Ella McCay, I was incredibly sad. I couldn’t believe how bad the film I had just seen was. With a plot that makes little sense, side stories that just lay there and do nothing to move the story along, and a lead character that you just want to slap and say the old “Moonstruck” line, “Snap out of it!” The film is dead on arrival from the first scene, with a couple that you can tell right away is destined to fall apart. Almost nothing is funny in this film, and that’s saying a lot when you have talent on the screen like Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, and the legendary Albert Brooks. The film feels much longer than its almost 2-hour runtime, and I wanted it to be over about 30 minutes in. Ella spends half the movie worrying about her brother (Spike Fearn) and trying to avoid her estranged father (Woody Harrelson), who wants to make amends for being such a crappy husband/father. All the while being announced as the Governor, a role she seems to avoid for most of the film. This is a film with tone-deaf dialogue, characters you don’t care about, much less want to spend time with, and an ending that feels slapped together after Brooks realized he had put his main character in a corner with no exits. If I wasn’t a film critic, I would be looking for the exit to the movie theater. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again Ella McCay Website Now playing in theaters

My View: Merv  (2025) PG  In Merv, Anna (Zooey Deschanel) and Russ (Charlie Cox) have broken up after living together. The problem is that they share a dog named Merv, and he has become depressed over the breakup. Will a trip together with Merv help mend their relationship? Or perhaps bring them back together just in time for the holidays? I am a big fan of romcoms, though I try to avoid most of the Christmas ones put out this time of year. While this takes place at Christmas time, most of the film takes place at a resort in Florida that caters to dog owners who want to vacation with their beloved furry friends. Merv (played by a lovable dog named Gus) is cute but depressed after his two owners break up. The film features two likable characters who broke up after receiving bad news, and Russ tried to make up for it by proposing. Now, they share a dog, trading him off every week. Unfortunately, much like Merv for most of the movie, the film just lies around. There isn’t much spark between Deschanel and Cox, including a very awkward dance between the two that is not fun to watch. When we watch a rom-com, we want some fun, some romantic moments, and an ending where the two characters finally figure out they are right for each other. I got little from this film, other than Merv/Gus is a very cute dog.  My Rating: Cable Merv Website Now playing on the Amazon Prime format

Indiefest: Scarlet  (2025)  PG-13  Scarlet is an animated film about a medieval-era princess who has trained all her life to handle herself in any situation. After failing to avenge the death of her father, the king, Scarlet finds herself injured in a surreal world. Desperate to return to the real world, she meets a young man who helps her understand that revenge isn’t always the best path forward. I often have trouble with Japanese animated films because they are often based on TV shows or manga books, and knowledge about the characters is needed to fully enjoy them. This is not the case with Scarlet, a standalone animated film loosely based on Hamlet with a little bit of Joan of Arc thrown in. It’s a gorgeously animated revenge film that takes our heroine to an underworld where she tries to find a way back to the living to get her revenge. Scarlet is ruthless on her journey, but along the way, we see that learning about life and forgiveness is beautifully told. My Rating: Full Price Scarlet Website  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest: Dust Bunny  (2025) R  Dust Bunny is about Aurora (Sophie Sloan), an eight-year-old girl who is convinced that a monster under her bed has eaten her family. She asks her neighbor, a hitman (Mads Mikkelsen), to help kill the monster. What could go wrong? Well, to answer that question…a whole lot. I loved this quirky movie, a feast for the eyes, as a young girl decides the only person who can save her and get revenge for her parents is a neighbor she discovers is a man who can take on anything. I love that the film takes a story that we all know, about the child who claims monsters are underneath her bed, and turns it on its side when we discover the monster isn’t a figment of a child’s imagination but is real and deadly. The film works because of the chemistry between Sophie Sloan, who plays Aurora, a child with determination and guts, and her not-so-friendly neighborhood hitman, played by the sullen and magnetic Mads Mikkelsen. It’s a fun relationship between a world-weary killer and a young, wise, and confident girl. Aurora goes as far as stealing money from the collection plates of a church to buy the hitman’s services. What I loved about this film is that nobody believes Aurora until it’s too late, with the exception of the hitman, who slowly realizes that there may be more here than meets the eye. Dust Bunny is a film that needs to be seen on the big screen, as the fight sequences are spectacular and the apartment Aurora lives in is off-the-wall nuts, especially when the monster that no one but Aurora thinks is real actually shows up. Just heed Aurora’s warning and stay off the floor, or you will regret it!  My Rating: Full Price Dust Bunny  Now playing in theaters

Indiefest:  Lone Samurai  (2025) R  Lone Samurai follows Riku (Shogen), a 13th-century samurai who, after successfully defeating an invading fleet, finds himself shipwrecked on a deserted island. As despair sets in, he contemplates ritual suicide. However, his plans are abruptly interrupted when a tribe of cannibals arrives, making him their next intended meal. I saw this film at the Rome International Film Festival and had a blast watching it. It’s a film that takes its cue from the gory Samurai films of the past, with a little Tarantino thrown in. The first third of the film is about a Samurai who has completed his mission, is on what he thinks is a deserted island, and is ready to end his life. Then a group of cannibals shows up, and Riku decides he will go out on his terms and not by the hand of someone who wants to eat him for dinner. The last third of the film is thrilling, and the fight on a beach between our lone samurai and a horde of angry cannibals is an outstanding bit of fight choreography. It’s an amazing piece of fighting (mostly by the stunt crew that worked on The Raid films) and swordplay, which is thrilling and bloody. If you like Samurai films or want to see more after seeing the Kill Bill extravaganza, then get ready for a bloody fight to the end. My Rating: Bargain Matinee Lone Samurai Website  Now playing in select theaters

My Rating: Silent Night, Deadly Night  (2025) R  Silent Night, Deadly Night opens with the scene of a child witnessing the murder of his parents by a man in a Santa suit. That child is now grown, dons the Santa suit, and embarks on a violent quest for revenge. This is a new version of the 1984 film of the same name. In fact, this film uses four songs written for the 1984 film. This time, Billy (Rohan Campbell) talks to someone inside his brain who tells him who to kill and how to find them. Now, Billy kills only during the Christmas season and only kills people who have done horrible things. This is a stupid but fun film that has no scares but plenty of bloody deaths and a whole lot of surprises (you will not believe one of his victims). The original film wasn’t great and had some controversy because of the violence in the film, but this one does a nice job of adding humor and some really fun twists. If you like your Santa impersonator with a little blood on his suit and maybe an axe handy, then this is your film.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Silent Night, Deadly Night Website Now playing in theaters

Forgotten Film: Gorillas in the Mist (1988) PG-13  Gorillas in the Mist is the story of Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver), a woman with no formal training, who ventured into the jungle to study the mountain gorillas of central Africa. She was instrumental in expanding our knowledge about the gorillas and became famous through a number of TV specials. The film’s first half is brilliantly done, as we, along with Dian, discover the wonders of gorilla life, and we see how deeply she cares about them. There are some amazing scenes between Fossey and the gorillas as she slowly earned their trust. The film is magical in the first half, and Weaver’s brilliant performance gives us a glimpse into a complicated woman who found her calling alone in the jungle. The film falls apart in the 2nd half, with a romance that Fossey has with a photographer (played by Brian Brown) and Fossey’s attempts at stopping the killing of gorillas, which eventually (spoiler alert) cost Fossey her life. I came away from the film thinking that I knew more about the gorillas than I did about Fossey.  My Rating: Full Price Gorillas in the Mist Info The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon

Weird Credits: From the credits of Scarlet: Stunt Coordinator

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Housemaid (2025)  R  In The Housemaid, Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is a young woman with a troubled past who, against her instincts, takes a job as a live-in housemaid for a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar) and their young daughter. The seemingly perfect life of the family unravels as Millie discovers dark secrets hidden just below the surface. Fans of the McFadden book are really looking forward to this film. The Housemaid Website  In theaters on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025

Until Next Time!