The Monkey

My View:  The Monkey  (2025)  R In The Monkey, twin brothers, Hal and Bill (Theo James in a duel role) were haunted by a mechanical toy monkey they owned when they were young. When played, the monkey bangs on a drum, and when the drumming stops, it means that someone close by will die. The monkey was hidden by the boys, but now that they are adults, it has returned. The movie is directed by Osgood Perkins, who gave us last year’s horror hit Longlegs, and is based on a Stephen King short story. If you want a Final Destination type film combined with a sick sense of humor, then this is your film. From the start, the movie goes over the top with very sick and humorous ways to die, all through horrific accidents. Hal and Bill are aware of the cause of these accidents, and it's the toy monkey banging on his drum. Theo James is great in the duel role of the adult Hal and Bill, twins who do not get along. Colin O'Brien plays Hal's estranged son Petey, who has an attitude problem that keeps getting worse as he learns more about his father. There is a message in the film, but I will let you figure it out. All you need to know is that a lot of people are going to die in some very funny and creative ways. I just hope that the monkey doesn’t end up at your house. And if you want to see a trailer for the next Osgood Perkins film, stay through all the credits, and you will get a taste of what is coming next from this creative horror filmmaker.  My Rating; Full Price   The Monkey Website   The film is in theaters nationwide.   

My View:  Cleaner  (2025)  R  Cleaner begins when activists take over an energy company’s annual gala, holding over 300 hostages. During her job as a window cleaner on the building, Joey (Daisy Ridley) learns that one of the hostages is her brother. Little do the activists know that Joey is a highly trained soldier determined to take them down. Cleaner is a fun action film with a star who can handle the action scenes but also has the acting chops to handle interaction with the bad guys. The film has some twists that keep the film moving. Where the film falters a bit is the relationship between Joey and her older brother Michael (Matthew Tuck). Their scenes seem forced, and the chemistry between the two lacking, making their relationship seem slight. Of course, most of us will think back to the first Die Hard film, but other than a relationship via walkie-talkie with a senior officer in charge of the rescue (played by Ruth Gemmell), the similarities are small. Cleaner isn’t a Die Hard rip-off but an action film with some heart behind it. So, but on your harness because you are about to spend a lot of time hanging off the side of one of London’s tallest buildings with Joey. She has a bit of cleaning up to do with a few bad guys.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Cleaner Website  Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story  (2024)   Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story is a documentary on Liza Minnelli, the daughter of actress Judy Garland. From her upbringing in front of the camera to her Oscar-winning performance in Cabaret (1973), along with her marriages and partying, Liza became a legend. I remember seeing Liza on TV performing with her mom, Judy Garland, but where I fell in love with Liza was her star-making performance in Cabaret. To a thirteen-year-old, she was the sexiest woman I had ever seen. This documentary focuses on Liza up until the mid-80s and everyone who mentored her. What I didn’t know was that after her mother died, Liza had a lot of help figuring out how to be Liza on stage and screen. This is a fascinating examination of a talented woman who had to overcome the enormous shadow her mother cast. Through the interviews, we get to know Liza and find out just how loved she is. The most memorable aspect of this film, aside from Liza's incredible talent, is her kindness. Liza, the private person, is a wonderful friend, while Liza, the performer, loves the attention and being on stage. While Liza is interviewed for the film and seems to have fun with the camera/interviewer, it’s Liza’s friends that give us insight into her life and loves. Liza fans will be captivated by all the home movies and outstanding concert footage that the film contains. And yes, she does sing a few times. My Rating: Full Price   Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story Website  Now playing in select theaters. 

Sorry I Missed It (A film that I didn’t see in theatres but have seen recently): Sweethearts  (2024)   R   Sweethearts is about two college freshmen, Jamie and Ben (Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga), who decide that when they go back to their hometown for the Thanksgiving holiday, they will pull a “Turkey Dump” and break up with their high school sweethearts. They decide to do it on “Drunksgiving,” the night before Turkey Day, but things don’t always work out the way you want them to. Sweethearts is one of those films that I wanted to like the film because I love the cast, especially Kiernan Shipka, but the screenplay lacks direction. The plot goes all over the place, as if director Jordan Weiss wasn’t sure which way to take the film. I loved the fact that this is a film with two platonic friends at the core, playing off our expectations fueled by all the past rom-coms (one of which makes a TV appearance during the film). However, the film’s jokes continually fall flat, and it takes forever to get going. While it takes place during Thanksgiving, there isn’t a lot of holiday vibes, which I enjoyed, but the film goes too easy on making both their left behind ‘sweethearts’ straight from the rom-com plots of people who shouldn’t be together, ever. There was one bright spot in the plot. Jamie and Ben’s best friend, Palmer (Caleb Hearon), is back visiting from France, where Palmer works across the street from EuroDisney (as he says EuroDisney adjacent). Palmer is back in town and wants to help Jamie and Ben with their breakup plan, but gets sidetracked by wanting to come out to his hometown. His adventures make you wish the movie centered on Palmer, Mr. Oblivious to the fact that everyone knows he is gay, as his scenes are the warmest and funniest. I enjoyed the film’s ending, but it took too long to get there, spending too much time setting up the main characters’ relationship. Sweethearts just isn't sweet enough for my taste.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Sweethearts Website  Now playing on Max. 

Forgotten Film:  Life is Sweet  (1990)  R   Life is Sweet takes place in a home in a London suburb, where the parents, Wendy and Andy (Alison Steadman and Jim Broadbent), live with twin adult daughters, Natalie (Claire Skinner) and Nicola (Jane Horrocks). Their house is full of wild characters that are so much fun to explore. The two twin sisters are like night and day. Nicola is a radical who hates anything and everything the government stands for. Natalie is cheerful and hopeful about life. Andy is always coming up with an off-the-wall way to make a few bucks, and Wendy is consistently torn between wanting to support her husband’s wild scenes but is also a little bit horrified by the fact that they will probably fail. Life is Sweet is one of filmmaker Mike Leigh’s (Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky) best movies with plenty of laughs and some surprises too. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but you will have fun with this strange and wacky family.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again.  Life is Sweet Info The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime. 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Cleaner:  High Fall Special Action Manikins

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:   Snow White  (2025) PG   A live-action adaptation of the 1937 Walt Disney animated film Snow White starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. I have hopes for this because Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of La La Land (2016), The Greatest Showman (2017), and the Tony award-winning Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” wrote original songs for this movie.  Snow White Website  The film will be in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 21, 2025. 

Until Next Time!

Love Hurts

My View:  Love Hurts  (2025)  R  In Love Hurts, Marvin (Ke Huy Quan) is a former hitman who has left his violent past for a much quieter life. Rose (Ariana DeBose), a partner Marvin thought was dead, has suddenly turned up and has some news that will turn Marvin’s quiet life into a full out battle to protect his future. I wanted to like this film, and for a while, I did. The action sequences are fun, with plenty of close-quarter flights that are inventive and fun to watch. The problem is the script has no clue what to do between the fights. The romance between Marvin and Rose is almost forgotten, with some horrible and clunky voice-overs telling us what they are thinking about each other, which brings the film to a full stop. I do not know who this film is for, as action fans are going to be bored with all the dialogue, and romance fans will be let down by the non-existent chemistry between the two leads. I wanted a role to give Ke Huy Quan something he could work with, but this film isn’t it.  My Rating; Cable  Love Hurts Website Now playing in theaters. 

My View:  Heart Eyes (2025)  R  In Heart Eyes, for the past few years, the “Heart Eyes Killer” has stalked and murdered couples out on the most romantic day of the year...Valentine’s Day. The killer mistakes two coworkers (Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding) for a couple and sets out to make them the next victims. Can they survive this night of romance? Heart Eyes is a hard film to describe. Not as silly as horror comedies like the Scary Movie series and not quite as serious as a film like the first Scream. Heart Eyes combines a slasher film with a rom-com. The thing is that this film works, playing off of both genres. We have all seen the rom-com plots where the two destined lovers don’t like each other at first, as one feels threatened that they could lose their job to the new hotshot that rides into town. However, what makes this different is that there is a serial killer who is targeting romantic couples. Our two coworkers go to a fancy restaurant to discuss the job they need to complete and are mistaken for a couple. Now, our killer decides this couple is the next target, and the game of survival is on. The film is a blast to watch as it plays with the rom-com troupes along with all the slasher gore that goes along with that genre. Holt and Gooding have great chemistry and are helped by some good comedic timing. The plot is fun to follow, and there are a few twists that keep the film moving. Heart Eyes a film that has fun with what it is, and we have a great time watching it all come together in one big, bloody Valentine’s mess.   My Rating: Full Price  Heart Eyes Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  I’m Still Here  (2024) PG-13  I’m Still Here takes place in 1971, when Rubens Paiva, a former congressman and critic of the Brazilian military dictatorship, is taken from his home by government officials, never to be heard of again. His wife, Eunice (Fernanda Torres), seeks to find out what happened to her husband while trying to keep her family going. This is the story of a woman and her family who fought for years to discover what happened. Fernanda Torres gives us a magical performance of a woman who won’t quit, no matter the odds or the difficulty. Torres gives us a woman who shows her emotions in her face but has a backbone that is stronger than the forces that try to wear her down. I'm Still Here a film that shows us a family in turmoil kept together by a woman who refuses to give in and is worthy of the multiple Oscar nominations . That the film is based on a true story and we see the photographs of the actual family at the end of the film makes the impact even stronger. My Rating: Full Price  I'm Still Here Website Now playing in select theaters.

My View:  Kinda Pregnant (2025) R  Kinda Pregnant is the story of Lainy (Amy Schumer), who, after seeing how her best friend is getting all the attention, pretends to be pregnant by putting on a fake baby bump. Things are looking up, but wouldn’t you know it? Lainy then meets the man of her dreams. As a fan of comedian Amy Schumer and the fact that I loved her in Trainwreck (2015), I was looking forward to this film. Schumer stars and co-wrote the movie, which is unfunny from start to finish. From the beginning of the film, when Schumer’s Lainy is convinced that her boyfriend of many years will pop the question, only to hit with the fact that he wants to do a threesome, this film falls flat from the beginning. I found the scenes with Schumer as a teacher to be the most uncomfortable and un-funniest, but then again, the scene where she goes to a yoga session for pregnant women, where farts are part of the comedy, might be the low point. Forte and Schumer have a couple of fun moments as a couple interested in each other, but they are few and far between the unfunny comedy of Schumer constantly falling on her stomach with the fake pillow that keeps asking us to laugh at things that just aren’t funny.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See It Again  Kinda Pregnant Website Now playing on the Netflix platform.

Indiefest:  No Other Land  (2024)   No Other Land is a documentary that follows a young Palestinian activist who has been protesting the displacement of his people by the Israeli military. As the military and settlers keep encroaching near his town, the activist makes friends with an Israeli journalist who is trying to publicize the tearing down of Palestinian homes by Israeli soldiers. No Other Land is a first-hand account of what it is like to be Palestinian in the West Bank as Israeli forces take more and more land from Palestinians, using the excuse that the land is needed for Army maneuvers, all the while, Israeli settlers build homes on the land that the Army has bulldozed. We follow a young activist who makes friends with an Israeli journalist as the two try to document what is going on and show the world. A world that too often turns a blind eye to what is happening. This is a hard film to watch, as we see two times when unarmed Palestinians are shot by the Israeli Army, all because they protest the taking of their land and homes. No Other Land is a moving piece of filmmaking where we see elementary schools being demolished, homes being destroyed without notice, and the taking of way of life by a superior force. Nominated for an Academy Award, No Other Land makes a powerful statement that the world should be paying attention to, no matter what side you are on.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again  No Other Land Website  Now playing in select theaters.

Indiefest:  Armand  (2024)  R  In Armand, Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve) is summoned to the school of her six-year-old son Armand over an incident. Elisabeth soon comes to the realization that her son is being accused of something far more serious than just a fight between two schoolboys. Renate Reinsve gives a powerful performance of a woman who feels that the world is against her, and in this case, it is. Elisabeth is not well-liked at the school and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the parents. She is a feisty woman who has to battle a system that seems to be judging before all the facts have been presented. This is a film where things are revealed in drips, where we, along with Elisabeth, have to piece together not only what her son is being accused of but also if the accusations are true. Armand has a few places in the story that slow it down, but Reinsve gives us a performance where we want to see where she is going to take her character and if Elisabeth can figure out everything before the end of the film.  My Rating: Full Price Armand Website  Now playing in select theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Fracture  (2007)  R  Ted (Anthony Hopkins) discovers that his wife is having an affair and shoots her. He signs a confession and then asks the court to represent himself. Willy (Ryan Gosling) is a hotshot lawyer about to go into private practice. Willy is convinced that this case will be a slam dunk, something he can leave the office with his head held high. The slam-dunk case becomes one where Willy knows Ted is guilty, but now the deck is stacked against him as evidence is lost, including the murder weapon. Facture is a fantastic and slick courtroom drama where twists and turns happen every few minutes. Hopkins is great as a man who is convinced he can get out of anything and Gosling is perfect as the lawyer who sees his career hopes slipping away as the trial goes on.   My Rating: Full Price  Fracture Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon and Apple TV+.

Weird Credits: From the credits of Love Hurts:  Lamp Crew

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You:  The Monkey  (2025)  R  Twin brothers, Hall and Bill, are haunted by a mechanical toy monkey they owned when they were young. When played, the monkey bangs on a drum, and when the drumming stops, it means that someone close by will die. The boys hid the monkey, and now, as adults, the monkey is back. The film is based on a short story by Stephen King and is directed by Osgood Perkins, who gave us last year’s horror hit Longlegs.  The Monkey Website  The film is in theaters on Friday, February 21, 2025. 

Until Next Time!