As a child of the 80s who played the shit out of my He-Man toys, you know I was down for the new Masters of the Universe, cheesy dialogue be damned. This film’s a reboot, telling the origin story of Prince Adam, and is great for people like myself, mid-40s-ish who fondly remember Castle Grayskull, as well as younger, new fans, which Mattel will need if they want to grow the franchise. I won’t go into the story much, because I know this isn’t for everyone, but basically young Prince Adam is very athletically challenged, even though he is supposed to succeed his father and continue a long lineage of powerful kings. Before he can grow into his role, the city is attacked by the evil Skeletor and his minions, overrunning the forces of good. The good Sorcerous sends young Adam through a portal to Earth, where he grows up with knowledge of home, though obviously no one believes him. To return home, he needs to find the Sword of Power, which will unlock his path home and bring him power to take out Skeletor and restore order. There’s plenty of dialogue that will make adults laugh (if you remember from the cartoons, Skeletor was an evil bad guy but also a bit of a bumbling buffoon at times), and some off-color jokes that will be over little kids heads. Is the dialogue silly? Yes. Does it sometimes come off as a high budget B movie? Sure. But it is still a thrilling ride and a wonderful piece of nostalgia that I’ll watch again. ★★★★

Starbright is a, at times, charming movie, even if it is a very bad film. And it is bad. It’s marketed as sort of a modern fable, and I guess it is that. A young woman named Aisling is living with her aging grandparents (Ted Levine spotting! Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs) when she spots a falling star that seems to crash nearby. Suddenly, a man claiming to be the archangel Raphael appears (played by John Rhys-Davies), and says the fallen star is there to grant Aisling one wish. But first she must protect it, as it (and by extension, she) is being hunted by some recent jail escapees who want the star for its ability to turn objects into gold. Aisling is aided by Raphael and a well-intentioned young Italian man named Joshua. There’s a near-perfect write-up on the reddit /badmovies that I urge you to go read, because the author does a great job of hashing out the plot in a way that is laugh-out-loud funny but also shows how ridiculous this movie is, from beginning to end. Still, even though you have to suspend belief at the near-constant absurd scenes (during a sword fight (*chuckle*) why does the bad guy keep backing off and waiting for Joshua to pick up his sword and resume the fight, rather than kill him outright?!? This happens at least 5 times), the actress who plays Aisling is cute as a button and Rhys-Davies is a scene-stealer throughout. ★★

Josh O’Connor is hot right now, and his latest role is that if a down-on-his-luck cowboy in Rebuilding. Dusty has just lost his home and livelihood, 200 acres of a cattle ranch, to a wildfire. FEMA sets him and others like him in temporary mobile homes, built cheaply by the lowest bidders, with leaking roofs and shoddy cabinets. Right now though, it’s all Dusty has left. With nothing else to do, Dusty takes the opportunity to reconnect with his daughter Callie. Dusty’s ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law (Amy Madigan sighting!) encourage Dusty to do so, and while Callie is hesitant at first, she eventually begins to warm up to her father. In doing so, she gets Dusty to open back up to life in general, befriending the others in the temporary homes. But when FEMA money runs out and they are each given days to pack up and leave, Dusty and his new friends must discover what their lives will look like moving forward. Very quiet drama, one of those indie films where not much really happens, but instead focuses on the little moments and the human interactions that make up everyday life. Excellent film. ★★★½

Dead Man’s Wire is one of those movies with an incredible cast (Bill Skarsgard, Cary Elwes, Colman Domingo, and even Al Pacino in a small role) with an established director (Gus Van Sant), but which the parts don’t come together for a satisfying whole. Based on a true story, it follows a man named Tony who has a bone to pick with the mortgage company who sold him some land. Tony had planned to develop the land, but that never came to fruition, and when the mortgage company raised his rates for missed payments, Tony lost it. His plan: kidnap the company’s CEO at gunpoint, to force the company to issue a public apology and make things right. Tony is obviously not in his right mind, and Skarsgard plays it to a tee, but honestly the movie is boring. For what is supposed to be a high-tense thriller, it is distinctly lacking in thrills. It has some style, taking place in the 70s, with editing to get you to feel like you are in the time period, but the movie’s just not very good. Sorry Gus, Good Will Hunting this ain’t. ★½

Also based on a true story, I Swear is a biopic about the life of John Davidson. The movie begins near the end: in 2019, John is getting a medal from Queen Elizabeth II, when he nervously blurts out “Fuck the Queen!” Yes, John has Tourette’s. We then flash back to when John was a young teen in 1983, when his symptoms first started. We see the teasing he receives, the dissolution of his family (his father leaves, and his mother, unable to deal with John’s tics, treats him poorly), and we, like John, don’t see how his once-promising life will ever rebound. A decade later, it is just John living with his mom alone when he finally finds hope. He runs into an old friend, who invites him home for dinner. The buddy’s mom turns out to be a former nurse in a mental ward, and she knows what Tourette’s is, even if not many others do at the time. For the first time in John’s life, she doesn’t try to get him to suppress his tics and profanity, but accepts him for who he is and encourages him to accept himself. Finally, John starts to grow. He moves out of his mom’s and in with his “new” family, and gets a job. As the movie progresses, John finds his calling: to educate the police, teachers, and society in general on what Tourette’s is, and to talk to others like him to tell them that they can still accomplish much in life. This life work is what leads to him receiving his medal from the queen. We’ve all heard about this disability, usually as a joke about the kid who blurts out vulgar language and makes weird movements/tics, but this is an eye-opening film about what it really means and how hard it can be for someone who just wants to fit in and lead a normal life. Robert Aramayo (John) is a star in the making, a truly brilliant performance. ★★★★★

• TV series recently watched: ST Voyager (season 6), For All Mankind (season 5), Your Friends & Neighbors (season 2), Rivals (season 2.1)
• Book currently reading: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Star Wars is back, with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars film in theaters in over 6 years. It’s a continuation of the popular (at least, the first 2 seasons) Disney+ show, but even if you go in completely cold, you can figure things out pretty quickly. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star (Return of the Jedi) and start of the New Republic, bounty hunter Din Djarin, often called just “the Mandalorian” to those who know of his reputation in the galaxy, is chasing down vestiges of the Empire generals and higher-ups. He is joined by Grogu, his young friend and toddler-sized alien, who is the same species as Yoda and also highly gifted in the Force, though he’s young and still learning. Djarin’s new bounty is for an Empire commander named Coin, but finding him will force Djarin into an unsavory alliance. Coin’s whereabouts are known to the Hutt Twins, who’ve been running things since Luke Skywalker killed Jabba the Hutt. Before the Hutts give up what they know, they task Djarin with rescuing Rotta the Hutt, who is Jabba’s son and successor. Djarin hates the Hutts but agrees in order to get to Coin. So starts the newest adventure long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars needs movies like this to succeed if they want to grow the franchise outside of Skywalkers and Jedi. As popular as the Star Wars movies are, if you pigeon hole the franchise to only doing movies about Jedi, there’s only so many directions that can go. This is a straight up action/adventure film set in the Star Wars universe, with hardly a mention of Jedi or universe-shattering events going on at large. I loved the movie. The action and fight scenes are incredible; it doesn’t get more thrilling than when you see X-Wings come down from the sky to start shooting up the bad guys. Plenty of comedic moments too (usually involving tiny Grogu; don’t mess with a winning formula) that had the (full) audience laughing. It’s a great ol’ Star Wars tale. ★★★★½ 

The Love That Remains is the newest from Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason, someone I have a checkered history with. I keep coming back though, because *everyone* always says his movies are so good. This one follows a family living in a rural area of Iceland over the course of a year, as they are moving on from a divorce. At the beginning of the movie, Anna and Magnus have already separated, but are trying to find out what that means, while they continue to raise their three kids. Magnus is gone for long stretches of time, as he’s a commercial fisherman, and Anna is close to a starving artist. When Magnus is in town, he still visits regularly and tries to proposition Anna for sex; she turns him down, and internally battles her lost feelings for him with her desire to see him dead. The kids, meanwhile, amuse themselves with shooting arrows on the huge stretch of their land, and asking each other questions about their parents’ love lives. With all this going on, the film comes off more as separate vignettes, intertwined with the over-arching story about the failed marriage. Lots of surrealism going on here, with scenes of Magnus floating in the ocean (as aimless as he feels after his marriage) and whatnot. I liked this one more than the previous Pálmason films, but still not sure I get everything it’s trying to say, and I didn’t think it was as funny as everyone else seems to think. ★★★

It’s rare that a coda to a beloved film or series is able to pull it off, but this one does. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is a proper conclusion to the (excellent) British series that catapulted the great Cillian Murphy to stardom. A few years after the conclusion of the series, Tommy Shelby has found a life of seclusion, away from the violence that pervaded his life as the head of the crime gang the Peaky Blinders. In his absence, his estranged son Duke (recast and now portrayed by Barry Keoghan) is the new head of the gang in Birmingham, and he’s made a deal with the devil. It’s 1940, and Nazis are looking to break England from within; they are wanting to import tons of counterfeit British currency into the country to devastate its economy, and Duke has agreed to help make it happen, with the goal to enrich himself and his gang. Tommy’s sister Ada, a member of parliament representing Birmingham, beseeches Tommy to return to his old stomping grounds and confront Duke to right his wrongs, but to do so, Tommy will need to reawaken his violent side. Not a deep movie, no big “ah-ha” moments, but it is supremely exciting, and Murphy and Keoghan play off each other to perfection. There’s lots to be gleaned if you’ve seen the series, but you can easily watch this as a standalone movie too. ★★★★

Sometimes its the movies that you don’t expect much from that really surprise you. Remarkably Bright Creatures, based off a popular novel, looked like it could be a little campy for my tastes, but I had nothing else going on this particular morning and popped it on Netflix. It stars Sally Field as Tova, an elderly woman who has worked long past the usual retirement age because she has a hard time being alone, a result of her husband and son preceding her in death. For her son in particular, there are whispers around town that he died under mysterious circumstances. Tova cleans an aquarium in the evenings, though she doesn’t seem to need the money, and enjoys “chatting” with the marine animals, particularly the octopus named Marcellus. Though Marcellus obviously doesn’t talk back to Tova, he acts as the narrator of the story for us viewers. Marcellus is constantly escaping his tank, and Tova always guides him back. This quiet little existence is thrown off course when Cameron (Lewis Pullman) comes to town. Cameron is seeking his father, a man who abandoned him as a child, someone he’s never met. But Cameron has a clue to who it is, and it isn’t long until Tova takes him under her wing, seeing something of her lost son in him, and helps him in his search. The mystery of Tova’s son’s death, and the legacy he left, is revealed in the end. Lots of heart-warming moments, but also lots of truly funny scenes, which I didn’t expect. It’s a great family film for all ages, though I think its message of redemption will hit harder for the older (my age and up) crowd. Keep the tissues close for the end! ★★★★½

Redux Redux has an interesting premise, and if you go in blind, you’ll have no idea what is going on for a little while. In quick scenes in the beginning, we see the main character, Irene, killing the same man over and over in various ways, whether it be burning him to death, shooting, or stabbing. Finally, she walks into a diner, sits at the counter, and spots him again. Before we can wonder what the heck is going on, Irene pulls out a gun and shoots him dead again. Unfortunately for Irene, this time there is a cop walking in at the moment, forcing her to flee. She evades them just long enough to get to a moving truck company, where she pulls a bag of keys out of her backpack, pressing key fobs until a truck horn beeps. She jumps in, drives like maniac back to her motel. As police descend on the motel room, she shimmies into a futuristic-looking metal box, presses a few buttons, and the box disappears. We soon learn the plot: Irene’s daughter Anna was killed by this man she’s been continuously murdering. Neville is a serious killer in every parallel universe, and in every one, Anna was victim number 12. Irene has made it her goal to kill him as many times as she can, until her luck runs out. If she ever dies, or gets arrested, then the game is up. This time is different though, because as she hunts down Neville once again, she finds that he has tied up soon-to-be victim # 13. Irene rescues the teenager, Mia. Mia wants in on the revenge tour, setting up some universe hopping hijinks The idea is good, but the execution is rough. The film is super low budget, which I normally don’t mind, but it is pretty hard to ignore. The cast is a bunch of people you’ve never heard of, and based on their acting chops, you probably never will. And there’s lots of weird side quests to increase the movie’s runtime, but serve no real purpose (like the universe-hopping machine losings its “flux capacitor” thingie, forcing Irene and Mia to sidetrack for some power). More than the minimum half star, just because it was interesting enough to get me to watch until the end. ★½

• TV series recently watched: Enterprise (season 1), Conbody vs Everybody (series), Love on the Spectrum (season 4), Marshals (season 1), Beef (season 2), Legends (series), The Testaments (season 1)
• Book currently reading: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Sound of Falling is a German drama with the feeling of an epic, as it takes place over 100 years or so. Centered around the same little area and house, there’s four distinct timelines, and the events interweave seamlessly from scene to scene, but over all, death and its looming presence pervades. Sometimes from war, sometimes from old age, sometimes from sickness, sometimes sudden and unexpected, but death is a constant part of daily life. In 1910, stones are superstitiously used to cover the eyes of a dead person, and in the next scene, teenagers are playing with stones on a nearby river 100 years later, the same river where a girl drowned earlier in the 1940s. Each scene blends into the next in an almost surrealistic way. The movie also does a great job of showing the difference in childhood innocence, depending on the period/era, as kids in the early 20th century are generally much more world-wise than those in present day, but are still innocent in their own ways. All around a powerful, haunting film, full of trepidation and sorrow, with hints of a deeper meaning that would require multiple viewings to unravel. My favorite kind! ★★★★½

Mumu is a tearjerker family drama out of China. Xiao Ma is a single father doing his best to raise his 8-year-old daughter Mumu. Ma is deaf, which hampers his ability to get (and keep) a job to support his daughter, leading him to make poor decisions even when he thinks he’s doing what’s best. Ma’s ex-wife shows up 5 years after leaving him and suddenly wants her daughter back. Ma hasn’t been able to send Mumu to school, for lack of funds, so he’s afraid the court will side with his ex and take Mumu away from him. This leads Ma to getting involved in a car insurance scam, with the promise of big paydays (to afford his lawyer) but things go sideways quickly. I really liked the first half of the film, as the director and team do a great job of showing the restrictions Ma faces and even getting inside his head a bit, portraying how a deaf person reacts in a world full of sound (most of the actors in the film are really deaf), but the second half falls into the trap of being a bit too sensational. Still, it’ll tug at the heartstrings. ★★★

Send Help stars Rachel McAdams as Linda, a hard-working businesswoman who keeps getting passed over for promotions at her company, a victim of the “old boys club.” While she does all the work, others always get all the credit. The latest is Donovan (Dylan O’Brien), who is fast tracked for the latest promotion, though he’s a fairly recent hire, because he’s a fraternity brother to a higher-up. Linda will get her revenge though. On a private flight to finalize a company merger, the plane goes down over the Pacific Ocean. Linda and Donovan are the only survivors, scraping by on a small uninhabited island. Initially, Donovan is hurt and has to rely on Linda for everything, but thanks to her survival skills, she is able to build a crude structure, fish, forage, and even hunt a wild boar. However, Donovan doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life on a little island with Linda. One day he drugs her with some local foliage and tries to flee on a boat he built. He doesn’t get very far, and Linda becomes more resolute than ever to keep him her prisoner. But when others do come to their island, how far will Linda go? Over-the-top gore that is more comedy than horror, with some funny moments (often related to the bizarre horror elements of the story). Not terrible, but not the kind of movie I’d watch again. ★★½

Solo Mio is a family romantic comedy starring Kevin James. He plays Matt, a teacher who found the love of his life and is set to marry her in a destination wedding in Italy. Family and friends have gathered and Matt is standing at the alter, but Heather never shows. Literally left at the alter, Matt tries to “postpone” his planned honeymoon around Italy, but the monies have been paid and there’s no refunds. The hotel manager urges Matt to just do it solo. Matt befriends two other American couples in the area, and sets out to try to make the best of it. Of course there’s a new romantic involvement, a local Italian cafe worker, to help get Matt’s sense of self back on track. This is definitely an old-school family comedy, very safe with nothing that will offend anyone and lots of corny jokes, but it’s cute enough for a family movie night. ★★½

The Punisher: One Last Kill is a short film (called a “Marvel Special Presentation”) at a bit under an hour, and it’s always a good thing when a movie leaves you wanting more. It continues the story arc of the MCU’s Punisher, portrayed by Jon Bernthal, carrying over from his Netflix Daredevil/Punisher shows as well as tying in to his future appearances in upcoming Marvel films. Frank Castle is a shell of his former self, suffering from severe PTSD and living in a crime-riddled area in Little Italy in New York. Crime is rampant, mostly because of his own doing: after Frank killed off the Gnucci crime family in the first season of The Punisher, the vacuum left by their absence has led to anarchy. Even cops are afraid to go into Little Italy right now, with gangs roving the streets, terrorizing its inhabitants. Frank is oblivious to all of it, haunted by his own demons, hallucinating about people from his past, and broken up over the deaths of his wife and kids. When Ma Gnucci comes calling, telling Frank that he will be hunted one night, retribution for killing her family, with a bounty on his head, Frank must confront those demons and rise up to protect the people that need protecting. This is (by far) the bloodiest, most violent film or show that Marvel has released in their Cinematic Universe, and it fits The Punisher to a T. I loved every moment of it, and hope Frank Castle shows up again in an R-rated vehicle (the more family-friendly upcoming Spider-Man film, where he will appear, notwithstanding). ★★★★★

• TV series recently watched: The Madison (season 1), Lost (season 3), Scrubs (seasons 1-2), Daredevil: Born Again (season 2), Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (season 2), Dexter (season 1), Maul: Shadow Lord (season 1)
• Book currently reading: Knight of Blood by Richard A Knaak

Michael is the newest musical biopic, showing the life (up until the mid-80s, and thus before all the controversy) of Michael Jackson. A very entertaining film, even if it is a bit of a puff piece. If you are a child of the 80s and grew up Michael’s music, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.

After a short scene taking place in 1988 where Michael Jackson is getting ready to go on stage for a massive concert, we zip back to his humble beginnings in Gary Indiana. In 1966, the Jackson family lives under the tyrannical figure of their patriarch, Joseph Jackson. He grinds his kids into a musical group, demanding perfection, or face a whipping from his belt if they don’t. Joseph starts lining up bar gigs in the area, and the kids are a hit, especially young Michael in the vocal lead. A rep from Motown sees them one day and immediately sees Michael’s talent, asking Joseph to bring the group in for a meeting, and thus it begins. The Jackson 5 starts touring, and their albums become chart-toppers.

By 1978, Michael is ready to branch out on his own, and releases the first solo album with Quincy Jones at Epic Records, Off the Wall, Michael’s breakthrough as a solo artist. Joseph is still his manager though, and he insists that Michael put his family first, forcing Michael to record and tour with the Jackson 5 rather than doing a solo tour. Michael still lives in fear of his father, and kowtows to him whenever confronted. It isn’t until 1981, when Michael goes behind Joseph’s back to higher an attorney of his own, that he gets out from his father’s shadow. 1982’s Thriller followed, cementing Michael Jackson as one of the strongest acts in the world; it would go on to sell 34 million copies, the second best-selling album of all time. The film wraps up a couple years later, after Michael goes on a final tour with his brothers, and publicly ends his musical influence under his father’s thumb, culminating in that 1988 sold-out Wembley stadium concert during his Bad tour in 1988.

For a film about a man embroiled in controversy, the movie avoids all of it. Doesn’t hurt that it ends in 1988 before most of that came along, but even the infighting and jealousies between Michael and his brothers is completely ignored. In the movie, they all seem to be united for their hatred/fear of their father. Colman Domingo steals the show as Joseph Jackson and is easily the strongest actor in the film. It is pretty obvious that Jaafar Jackson was chosen for the role of Michael based solely on his familial looks (he is Michael’s nephew, brother Jermaine’s son). Jaafar obviously practiced the moves and has Michael’s classic dances down cold, but he’s not going to win any acting awards any time soon. But as I said at the open, it is an entertaining movie, even if the more complicated elements of Jackson’s early life are whitewashed. ★★★½

After years of doing movies together, we got to see what writer/director Benny Safdie had to offer on his solo effort (The Smashing Machine), and now we see what brother Josh can do on his own, with Marty Supreme. Called by everyone “the ping pong movie,” there’s a lot more to it than that. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a star table tennis player in 1950s New York, with aspirations of growing the sport and making lots of money. The British Open is about to take place, and Marty thinks that if he can win, it can spur the imagination of his nation and lead to financial opportunities. Sounds like it would be easy to root for this go-getter, if only he were even the slightest bit likable. Marty is a despicable person, willing to do anything and hurt anyone (friends, family, the girl (someone else’s wife) he knocked up) to get to the top. Thus, it is impossible to root for him on his journey. That being said, it’s a very entertaining movie, with awesome performances by the talented Chalamet and a surprisingly strong showing from Shark Tank alum Kevin O’Leary (his own personal views notwithstanding) as a cutthroat businessman. ★★★★

Charliebird is about a woman, Al (short for Alyse I think?), who is a music therapist working in the children’s wing of a hospital. She uses her guitar to uplift hopes in the ward, and it seems to work for all of the kids except one: Charlie. Charlie is 17 years old, been in and out of hospitals most of her life, and strongly suspects she is worse off than her parents are admitting, and that she won’t be leaving the hospital this time. She has no patience for Al, but Al will not give up so easily. Al is carrying around a lot of baggage too, about a sister who died tragically many years ago when they were younger, and she sees something in Charlie that reminds her of her long-lost sibling. Despite the hospital’s warnings, Al gets too attached to Charlie and becomes more of a friend than just a caregiver. Very emotional ending, even if you do see it coming from damn near the beginning of the movie. Strong acting from a bunch of people I’ve never heard of. ★★★½

Readers of my blog know I am a musical junkie, so of course I was going to watch Merrily We Roll Along. It’s a recording from a live performance on Broadway with its Broadway cast, including Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez in the leads; Groff and Radcliffe both won Tony’s for their performances. The musical/movie starts at the end, with a party celebrating the new hit movie of Frank (Groff). We quickly see, though, that Frank is surrounded by sycophants, and his wife Gussie (Krystal Joy Brown) craves the attention they bring. Frank’s old friend Mary (Mendez) is at the party, but she is working hard to get drunk as fast as she can, and once she’s had enough, she tells Frank and all those gathered around how awful they all are, including Frank, who is no longer the person she knew. Then we start going back, each successive scene retreating a couple years at a time, to see how we got here. It takes awhile to get all the details; as in real life, there’s rarely one moment that changed everything. Rather, it’s a culmination of things. Frank used to write songs with his parter and former best friend Charlie (Radcliffe), but the two had a serious falling out over Frank’s ambition, while Charlie was unwilling to give up his ideals and love of the art form for a chase of fortune. Mary has a big part to play in it all too, as does Frank’s first wife, before Gussie came along. The movie (and musical) is just ok for me. The music isn’t all that catchy, and honestly I’m not sure how this musical won so many awards. A minor nitpick too: if you are going to present a live performance, then let it look like a live performance. Too many close-ups try to make this show look like a movie instead of a stage performance. I’d rather have the cameras take a step back to show the whole stage. There’s another movie coming one (far away) day too. Richard Linklater is doing a movie adaptation, and since the show takes place over 20 years, that’s how he’s filming it, as only Linklater does. Maybe the next version of the film, in 2045, will be better. ★★½

Magellan is an artsy telling of the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, portrayed by the always good Gael Garcia Bernal. It begins in 1511 in Malacca, where Magellan is fighting for Portugal against the local sultanate. He is gravely injured, which gives him a limp for the rest of his life, but survives. He returns to Portugal and begins planning his famous expedition around the world. There are lots of mutiny attempts and putting down insurrections along the way. After crossing past what later would be called the Straight of Magellan south of South America and heading out into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, many of the sailors lose hope, as weeks become months with no sight of land. When they finally hear seagulls, cheers go up. The ship makes land at Cebu, where they are welcomed by the indigenous people as the first white people they’ve ever seen. However, Magellan is reminded of Malacca, where they were also initially welcomed with open arms. On Cebu, he tries to convert them all to Christianity, but the people just nod and repeat the Sinner’s Prayer, not knowing what it means. When they continue to worship their gods, Magellan’s men round up the idols and burn them, angering and saddening the people. They try to scare Magellan away with their tales of a gruesome phantom that eats babies and whatnot, but the learned Magellan recognizes a ghost story when he hears one, and is unafraid. This will be his downfall, because when the Cebu people rise up against his crew, they are vastly outnumbered, leading to Magellan’s death. The movie goes in fits and starts, showing little scenes here and there both before and during the voyage, which can be hard to follow until you get into the flow of it. Some parts of the movie are amazing and breathtaking, other just don’t come together quite right. ★★★½

Afterburn is the kind of shlocky action flick that usually sees a straight-to-streaming release (though it did hit theaters first, where it bombed). But its a dystopian film, and I can’t resist the genre. It’s set 10 years after a huge solar flare took out all technology on our planet, and society has crumbled. Warlords have taken reign across Europe. Jake (Dave Bautista) has been fixing up a boat for years, in hopes of getting out of London to the safer open seas. Jake is great at finding things, and has been locating relics of the pre-destroyed world for a man (August, played by Samuel L Jackson) calling himself the new King of England. His latest assignment is the Mona Lisa, but Jake initially refuses, knowing how dangerous mainland Europe has become. He can’t pass up on the promise to finish his boat though, so he reluctantly agrees. What he finds in France may break him, as there are waring factions, and he’s not entirely sure he can trust the people he’s working for either. Sometimes you’re in the mood for these over-the-top bloody action movies; today I was not. ★½

Resurrection is marketed as an “epic science fiction drama.” Not sure it is that, but it is is a thought-provoking, leisurely presented Chinese drama, and those are some of my favorites. The premise is that it takes place in the future where mankind has learned to live forever by giving up dreaming, but some renegades would rather age than give up on their dreams. Thus, a special force is tasked with going inside the dreams of those people and find out why they don’t want immortality. We get 4 dreams of our protagonist, and so the movie is really 4 vignettes held together (loosely) by that overarching idea. But man oh man, those vignettes are so good. In the first dream, the dreamer plays Qiu, a man in a bombed-out city who is threatened and tortured to give up the code to unlock a suitcase of his friend. In the second, he is a former monk who has betrayed his old monastery to some looters, there looking for riches, but he has a chance to redeem himself with a spirit house in a Buddha statue. In the third, the dreamer becomes Jia, a con artist looking to pull one over (with the help of a little girl) on a wealthy patron seeking a psychic. In the final dream, he is Apollo, living life to the fullest on New Year’s Eve 1999, when the world thinks it might be ending, though his companion may be a vampire. Obviously the whole movie is very dream-like, much like the director’s last film (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), so much so that there are scenes that reminded me of dreams I’d had. Just the way the camera moves, or how events blend into each other, etc. Beautifully shot, beautifully told, just a gorgeous film in every way. The final scene of the last dream stuck with me. ★★★★

Miroirs No 3 is the latest from German director Christian Petzold and returns his frequent collaborator, Paula Beer. This one’s not one of my favorites from this team, but it is solid. Laura is riding down the road with her boyfriend after a bitter fight when he crashes the car and is killed. Laura is thrown from the car but survives with barely a scratch, and is taken in by a very friendly woman who lives nearby. The woman, Betty, obviously sees something in Laura, and tells her that she’s welcome to stay as long as she needs while she gets her bearings. This turns into several weeks, though something seems afoot here. Something’s not right, and you can feel it from the get-go. This leads to a lot of tension in the quiet moments, a feeling that something isn’t being said, sort of an “open secret” that Betty’s family is in on, but Laura and we viewers are not. Ending was a little uneven for me, but I’ll watch anything with Paula Beer in it. ★★★

The Voice of Hind Rajab is a gut punch of a film, based on a true story. In 2024 during the Israel incursion into Gaza, volunteers at the local Red Crescent (the Middle East branch of the Red Cross) receive a frantic call from a Palestinian woman trying to flee Gaza. Israel has told Palestine citizens to get out of the area, and that’s what the woman’s family was trying to do when they were fired upon by Israel’s army. The line goes dead and the Red Crescent folks think the worst, when they get a new call in. A small 6-year-old girl named Hind has survived the gunfight, though she says the rest of her family in the car “is sleeping.” Omar, the young man who initially took the call at Red Crescent, immediately wants to send in an ambulance to get the girl out, but the boss knows they have to go through the proper channels. Though the Red Crescent has certain protections as an international humanitarian group, and though Hind is just 8 minutes from the nearest Red Crescent ambulance facility, they need to notify the Israel Defense Force that they’ll be going into the zone, as well as the Palestine defenders on the other side, and a host of others. What should take just a few minutes ends up taking hours, as they keep getting hung up on red tape, all while Hind pleads for help. It is starting to get dark, and she is scared. Hearing a little girl begging for help, which should be easy to give, is heart wrenching, and the film drives it home by using actual audio recordings from that fateful day as Hind cries and Omar’s frustrations boil over. The inevitable end, which we all know is coming, just breaks you. I know Israel is supposed to be our buddies and a person can be ostracized for saying anything against them (and I also know that both sides commit atrocities in war), but damn. If this movie doesn’t boil your blood, I don’t know what can. ★★★★★

The Testament of Ann Lee comes from writer/director Mona Fastvoid, the “other half” of the writing team (with Brady Corbet) of The Brutalist, a film that was much hyped a couple years ago, but which didn’t blow me away. This film is like that one in a lot of ways, namely that (I think) it feels much more important than it really is. Which isn’t to say it’s a bad movie, but maybe a bit pretentious. (Probably loosely) based on the life of Ann Lee, it tells her story from childhood to death. Ann lived in the mid-18th century. Born in a poor family in Manchester, England, at a young age she witnesses her parents having sex, something that would shape her life. She grows to be very pious, and preaches celibacy as a way to grow close to God. This, of course, doesn’t sit well with her husband, and after her fourth child in a row dies young, she swears off sexually actively entirely. Ann starts growing followers, especially women (as she preaches them as equals in the eyes of God), and people are drawn to her version of “shaking Quakers,” or “Shakers” as they become known. After awhile, Ann feels like they can have more religious freedom in America, so she and her followers make the voyage in search of a new community. Amanda Seyfried is very good as Ann Lee, a woman who never learned to read or write but who stood by her convictions, even under persecution. However, the movie does come off as self-important and rubbed me the wrong way at times. A quasi-musical, it has some weird musical numbers thrown in, with music that often just repeats the chorus a thousand times. Still, worth watching for Seyfried’s performance, and maybe a bit of history, if you are so inclined. ★★★½

Christy was supposed to be Sydney Sweeney’s coming out party, a serious Oscar contender to show the world that she is more than just a pretty face and can carry a dramatic role. That didn’t happen, as it failed to wow the critics, but I think it is still OK. Sweeney is Christy Salters, one of the first stars in female boxing and someone who helped put the sport on the map. The film starts with her in college in the late 1980s, where she’s a good player but prone to getting in fights. A local coach and promoter, James Martin, sees her beating on someone and recruits her for boxing. It isn’t long before Christy is fighting for money, and marrying James to boot, this despite Christy being a lesbian; she is trying to please her homophobic mother by going straight. James shows his true colors soon though, becoming controlling and verbally abusive, which will soon become physical abuse too. Christy sticks with him, as he introduces her to Don King, after which her career really takes off. Things go sideways in 2003 after King books a fight for Christy to fight up-and-comer Laila Ali, who outweighs Christy by 30 pounds. Christy loses obviously, leading to a cocaine addiction and further abuse from James. When Christy attempts to finally leave him, James stabs and shoots her, leaving her for dead, though she miraculously crawls outside and flags down a car for help. Based on a true story, the film is moving in all the right spots but fails to really flesh out the characters. Christy always seems to do no wrong, and James is evil from the beginning, and every other character sticks to their little path with no deviation either. Sweeney is solid as Christy Martin, but the direction and writing doesn’t help her out. ★★½

• TV series recently watched: Dark Winds (season 4), Paradise (season 2), Stargate SG1 (season 3), Company Retreat (series), Jessica Jones (season 3), The Pitt (season 2), X-Files (season 2)
• Book currently reading: House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski

Been nearly a decade since the first Zootopia film, a movie that didn’t blow me away, but which has grown on me with time. I liked the sequel much more upon first viewing. It picks up right where the first ended: Judy Hopps (a rabbit) and Nick Wilde (a fox) have just taken down the corrupt mayor in the city of zoo animals and are public darlings, though the police force isn’t exactly ready to give them good cases yet. Thus, Judy and Nick team up to find their own, and in doing so, uncover a scheme 100 years in the making. At first, they think a snake is trying to steal an ancient journal chronicling the creation of the weather walls (which allows animals from various habitants to live near each other). Others scoff because snakes, and reptiles in general, haven’t been spotted in society in years, but Judy is undeterred. Her investigation ends up going deep into Zootopia’s past, and an entirely new bad guy hiding in plain sight. Unlike my initial thoughts on the first film, this movie has tons of “inside” jokes that kids won’t get but which are aimed squarely and Gen X and older, so this is one for kids, parents, and grandparents alike. The message is much the same as the first movie (being accepting of “animals” of all shapes and sizes) but delivered in a new way. Very funny and very endearing. ★★★★½

Frontier Crucible is a neowestern made on a super low budget, but does have a couple recognizable faces (Thomas Jane as the cruel leader of some thugs, and Armie Hammer as one of his henchmen, though not sure Hammer counts as he’ll take any gig at this point in his career; there’s also a 5 minute cameo by William H Macy which was probably filmed in 20 minutes). The film takes place in the Arizona territory of the late 19th century and follows a man of few words but strong actions named Merrick, who’s been tasked with getting medical supplies through Apache lands to the city of San Carlos. Soon into his trip, he stumbles upon a wagon that was recently attacked by the Apache, leaving the wagon’s owner, Jeff, suffering from a gunshot to the stomach and his wife, Valerie, distraught. The wagon was also being “protected” by three thugs who came out of the wilderness and latched on: Mule, his adult son Billy, and evil-looking Edmund. The five of them beg Merrick to help them get north to Tucson, the closest city, but Merrick is adamant about getting his supplies to San Carlos. Thus, they all team up to head south through the worst of the Apache areas. Merrick will have to keep an eye out for the natives, but also his own ne’er-do-well “friends,” whom Merrick starts to suspect played a part in torturing and killing his own brother in the area 2 years ago. Not very well acted and some truly rough dialogue, but there’s some nice surprises, and the bloody ending is as exciting as you could hope for. If I’m just rating the whole of the film, probably 2 stars, but that ending got to me. ★★★

No Other Choice is kind of a weird film. A South Korea black comedy, it is about a man, Man-su, who is fired from his job at a paper-making company when he refuses to lay off some people under him. His wife Mi-ri is forced to start working again, and their kids Si-one and Ri-one are left wondering if they’ll be able to keep their house. After taking a menial low-paying job that doesn’t really help pay the bills, Man-su gets an idea: he can get a good job at a paper company again, if he can “take out” the other qualified candidates that may get hired before him. Thus, he makes a list of 2 or 3 people in the industry who may see more attention than himself, and sets out to accomplish the grisly task. For my tastes, the humor was really out there, with some quirky laughs at Man-su’s expense, but I can see how others may be laughing their asses off, as he is just about the worst kind of assassin. I want to rate this one higher, but it’s just not my cup of tea. ★★★

Is This This On? Is a comedy drama starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern as married couple Alex and Tess, with small roles for Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Peyton Manning (who is an awful actor) and Bradley Cooper (who also directed). Married for 20 years, they’ve made the decision, jointly it seems, to end their marriage, as neither are really happy. They set out to do a good job coparenting their sons and Alex gets a small apartment. Over the ensuing months, they each try to restart lives on their own, figuring out what it means to be single for the first time in a quarter of a century (and times have certainly changed!). Alex stumbles into a bar one night, but doesn’t have the cash to pay the $15 cover, so instead signs himself up to do stand-up comedy at the bar’s open mic night in order to get in for free. Unprepared, he goes up on stage and actually gets some laughs, nervously talking about his failing marriage. He enjoys it, and continues going to open mic nights around the city and making friends amongst the other comics in the area. Tess also starts fresh. She was once an esteemed volleyball player, playing for USA in the Olympics, but gave it all up to be a wife and mother. She puts out feelers about getting back into the sport as a coach. The movie mostly follows Alex though, as he continues performing on stage, using material gleaned from his evolving personal life. When Tess, on a date no less, stumbles upon Alex’s routine one night, shit might hit the fan. There’s some good laughs, but honestly for my tastes it was a bit cringy at times, as Alex’s act is really just that of a sad man who can’t come to grips with his derailed life. I’m not one to laugh at someone else’s misfortune, even if he’s the one making the jokes (as a defense mechanism). ★★½

The Housemaid is a thriller from a unlikely source, director Paul Feig (more known for his comedies like Bridesmaids and the latest Ghostbusters reboot, not to mention the show Freaks and Geeks). Sydney Sweeney stars as a down-on-her-luck woman named Millie, who is homeless and desperately in need of a job, in order to meet the requirements of her parole. She lands a seemingly plush gig as a live-in housemaid to a wealthy family: husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar; Spencer Dutton from the show 1923), wife Nina (Amanda Seyfried), and their daughter Cece. Things only look perfect for a day though, because very soon Millie realizes Nina is a few screws short. Nina is demanding and self-contradicting, asking Millie to do tasks and then reprimanding her for doing them wrong, or arguing that she never gave Millie those tasks to begin with. Millie even overhears their peers talking about how Nina spent time in a psychiatric ward after trying to drown Cece. Things come to a head when Nina asks Millie to set up a romantic weekend for Nina and Andrew, only to berate her for “choosing the wrong day” and buying non-refundable musical tickets and hotel accommodations in the city. When Andrew defends Millie, and Nina retreats to a ballet camp with Cece, Andrew tries to make it up to Millie by taking her to the city instead. Of course this leads to sex, which leads to Nina blowing up at them both. But when Andrew kicks Nina out of the house, why is it that Nina seems excited rather than depressed? Turns out there may be more to Andrew than what appears… This is one of those movies that maybe isn’t great cinema, but it is definitely entertaining (as shown by better reviews from average moviegoers over the “true” critics) with plenty of nice twists and turns. Seyfried is spectacular as the troubled Nina. ★★★★

• TV series recently watched: ST Voyager (season 5), The Punisher (season 2)
• Book currently reading: Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed

Hamnet is a dramatization of a part of the life of William Shakespeare, beginning with him as a young man in Stratford. A smart man, he is tutoring a local family to help pay his father’s debts when he becomes smitten by a woman, Agnes. Agnes is rumored to be a witch, as she spends a lot of time in the forest and was taught herbal medicines and whatnot by her mother. William gets Agnes pregnant, forcing a marriage, and while he loves her, he is depressed. Agnes knows William needs the hustle and bustle of a big city to get his creative juices flowing, so she tells him to go to London while she remains in Stratford to raise their daughter Susanna. Over the ensuing years, Williams spends much of his time in London, returning home between theater seasons to see Agnes and their kids, with twins Judith and Hamnet soon following Susanna. Unfortunately, William is in London when Judith contracts the bubonic plague, and though she recovers, Hamnet catches it from her and does not. William arrives to see their dead son lying in wake and is distraught, further so when Agnes blames him for not being home. Until now in the film, I was wondering what all the fuss about this movie was about. It has a high critic’s score, which is expected based on the subject matter (and it is beautifully shot and well acted, especially by Jessie Buckley as Agnes), but the 92%+ audience score had me baffled. And then the finale came, as William returned to London to perform his newest play, Hamlet, in a break from his previous output of comedies and now into tragedies. Agnes and her brother secretly go to the opening performance, and see the effect her son’s death had on William. Not ashamed to admit I was ugly sobbing by the end. ★★★★★

The Secret Agent is, in my opinion, a misleading title, because while it is billed as a political thriller, we’re not talking about spies or anything. Taking place in the late 70s during a military dictatorship in Brazil, it follows a man, Armando, trying to get out of the country with his young son. Armando has a history of speaking out against some politically powerful men. Those men have hired a couple contract killers to take Armando out, so he is in hiding, under a new name, while some sympathizers are working on getting him fake papers to get clear of the country. That’s the movie in a nutshell, and while it has some highlights and some tense moments in the final act, it’s pretty ho-hum in general. It was a dark time in Brazil’s history, but doesn’t translate to a tremendous picture. Did have an Udo Kier sighting as a German Jew trying to quietly live out his final years after surviving World War II; it was Kier’s final role before his death. ★★½

Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. Even if you’ve never seen a single musical, you’ve probably heard of those four towering successes from the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Blue Moon isn’t about them, but it is about Lorenz Hart, the lyricist who worked with Richard Rodgers before Oscar Hammerstein II. The team of Rodgers and Hart wrote some popular musicals in their day, including some lasting songs that have stuck around (like the eponymous movie title), but their output hasn’t stood the test of time like the musicals Rodgers did with his second partner. The film takes place on opening night of Oklahoma!, as Hart (portrayed incredibly by Ethan Hawke) drowns his sorrows at a local bar. He’s just seen his former partner’s new show, and while he recognizes it will be a tremendous success, he bemoans Hammerstein’s too-family-friendly lyrics and the musical’s overall lack of artistry and subtlety (“Did you hear the line about the corn as high as an elephant’s eye? Have you ever seen an elephant in Oklahoma? That may be the dumbest lyric ever written in a musical.”) Hart regales the bar with stories of the past, and it is evident that his boisterous flare is popular amongst the regulars and non-regulars (he befriends author E.B. White who was sitting by himself at a table in the corner), but becomes sullen when Rodgers and Hammerstein arrive to great applause. Hart nearly begs Rodgers to work with him again, but Rodgers is hesitant due to past arguments and Hart’s often debilitating alcoholism. Supremely entertaining, very funny in a mature way (no visual gags here, all laughs come from wordplay), and with lots of heart too. Director Richard Linklater released two films in 2025. Nouvelle Vague is tremendous, and so is Blue Moon. ★★★★½

A Little Prayer is a quiet, subtle indie film starring David Strathaim as Bill, owner of a metal factory with a full house at home, despite being up there in years. His son and successor David and his wife Tammy live in a second house on Bill’s property, so they often share meals all together, and Bill’s and his wife Venida’s daughter Patti is recently returned to home (with her young daughter too) after leaving her husband. Just when Bill and Venida are probably eyeing things winding down, the house is bustling. Bill learns that David is cheating on his wife with a woman from work, and does not approve, but when he approaches David about it, David tells him to mind his own business. It’s a tricky situation, since Bill sees Tammy every day, and knows that Tammy is struggling with not having children, a forefront thought now that Patti’s daughter is now around the house too. Things get worse before they get better, as Bill learns that Patti left her husband because he’s addicted to drugs (though she might return to him anyway), and David has more evils in his closet too. Bill, a genuinely good person who wants the best for his loved ones, doesn’t know what to do. Not a complex movie, but full of complex emotions. ★★★½

Videoheaven is a documentary for film lovers who lived in the 80s and 90s, so early Millennials and older, and thus right up my alley. That’s because it is all about the rise and fall of the video store, and is great nostalgia for anyone with fond memories of renting VHS tapes from your local store. Narrated by Maya Hawke, it dives deep into how video stores came to be, how they thrived for a couple decades, going from small independent havens to sprawling chains, to their decline and complete disappearance. I’ve seen a lot of movies, more than most people, I think, but there are tons of clips in this film from movies and shows that I’ve never seen (or even heard of), showcasing actors together that you never knew did a movie together, or others in very early roles “before they were famous,” all taking place in the confines of a video store. Also goes into how those video stores themselves were depicted on screen, from famous scenes in Seinfeld and Clerks to subtle clips of video stores in the background of big blockbuster action flicks. Sometimes it gets a little too deep, focusing on certain movies longer than it should, but there’s lots of good stuff here. It does bring back the nostalgia, making me remember running into classmates at the local video chain, renting a movie from the grocery store (remember when that was a thing?!), and interactions with clerks asking for recommendations. A time that is gone, never to return, but which holds plenty of memories for those of us in the 40+ age group. ★★★½

• TV series recently watched: Stumble (season 1), Starfleet Academy (season 1), ST Deep Space 9 (season 7)
• Book currently reading: Paul of Dune by Herbert & Anderson

If anyone is cheering the regime change in Iran, it is Jafar Panahi. It Was Just an Accident is his newest film, and the most directly outspoken against the evils going on in his country. It begins simple enough: a man, his pregnant wife, and their daughter are driving home when they run over and kill a dog, resulting in car damage. The man, who has a prosthetic leg, takes it to a repair shop where one of the workers freezes up, visibly shaken, when he hears the man’s squeaky steps on his fake leg. The shop worker, Vahid, follows the man, and the next day, kidnaps him in broad daylight and drives him out to the desert. He digs a shallow grave and begins to bury the man alive, despite the man’s protestations. Turns out Vahid recognized that squeaky noise from the man’s prosthetic from his days of being tortured in Iran’s prisons. The lead torturer was a man named Eghbal, and the sound of his squeaky leg has haunted Vahid’s nightmares ever since. The man being buried, though, says he is not Eghbal, vehemently enough that Vahid starts to doubt himself. Vahid was always blindfolded, so he never saw Eghbal. Vahid knocks Eghbal out and puts him in the back of the truck, and spends the rest of the movie finding others who were tortured by him. All of them were always blindfolded, but a photographer, Shiva, recognizes Eghbal’s sweat scent, and a bride-to-be, Goli, Eghbal’s voice, while another man, Hamid, is convinced from when Eghbal forced Hamid to feel the scars on his leg stump. Still, Vahid is unsure, as he doesn’t want to murder an innocent man, and even if it is Eghbal, do they want to resort to the same methods that were forced on them by Iran’s government? So much to delve into here. There’s a great video online where Jafar Panahi visits the Criterion Closet and talks about the film Bicycle Thieves, and how in Iran, society is similar to that movie in that it is impossible to escape from your circumstances, that it repeats in a circular fashion. This film is about breaking out of that circle. With the current ending of the regime in Iran, hopefully a brighter future is on the horizon. ★★★★★

Nuremberg is based on the Nuremberg trials, when the surviving high profile Nazi commanders were tried for their crimes against humanity after World War II. The four superpowers after the war, USA, UK, France, and USSR, each want to deal with the criminals in different ways, whether it be summary execution or show trial and execution, but the USA is determined to give the men a true trial by tribunal, not so much because they want to make sure the men are truly guilty, but to show the world (and in particular the citizens of Germany) what really happened, so that it never happens again (and not to make martyrs out of them). However, when you have a real (and not show/fake) trial, there’s always the possibility that someone is found innocent, so the governments want to build their case and get this right. They bring in experts from all fields, including a young hotshot psychologist to get to know the criminals and see what makes them tick. There’s an all-star cast including Michael Shannon as lead prosecutor Robert Jackson, Rami Malek as psychologist Douglas Kelley, and Russell Crowe as the head bad guy, Hermann Göring, who was second-in-command to Hitler. Stellar performances across the board, and obviously the subject matter is emotionally charged, especially when the world is shown what really was going on in the labor and death camps, but it didn’t all come together for me. Worth watching for the acting (especially Crowe, who makes a great bad guy), and maybe for the younger generation who might not be as up on the evils of World War II, but I didn’t glean anything new and it came off as pretty matter-of-fact. ★★★

When Sisu surprised everyone and made a lot of money, you knew a sequel would be coming. I enjoyed the first one despite it being kind of silly, and the sequel, Sisu: Road to Revenge, is more of the same. Aatami Korpi returns home after the war, but with his wife and child killed, and his home now behind the moved border between USSR and Finland, Aatami is forced to move. However, he wants to take his house with him, as the only reminder of his family, so he tears down the house board by board, loads it onto a huge truck, and heads for the new border to his native Finland. USSR isn’t ready let him go so easily. The powers-at-be pull Draganov out of prison, the man who killed Aatami’s family, and task him with finishing the job in exchange for his freedom. Draganov has all the resources of the red army at his beck and call. What follows is even more ridiculous than the first movie, with tanks, trains, and planes all trying to kill “the man who refuses to die.” In typical sequel fashion, it turns up the gore level, and bad guys fall in increasingly absurd ways. Should have stopped at one film, but if you go in knowing what you are getting, it is entertaining enough. Not sure I want to see a third though… ★★½

War Machine is your typical straight-to-streaming (the “new” straight-to-DVD) war movie, and basically a new take on Predator. I only watched it because I like Alan Ritchson from his Reacher show, but I should have passed. After a (very long, like half the movie) introduction when we see an unnamed army sergeant lose his brother to a Taliban strike in Afghanistan, and then the survivor’s attempt to join the Rangers (his dead brother’s last wish), we finally get into the action. The sergeant makes it through training with a handful of others, and they are given one last exercise out in the field. However, they stumble upon an alien killing machine, something from outer space, which kills with ruthless precision. Sergeant and the new ranger team, those that survive the initial strike, run for the hills, while the alien machine pursues. Lots of explosions, lots of frightened looks, lots of hiding in the trees (only to be found seconds later), all as you’d expect from this kind of movie. And of course, the machine is taken out in the end, but with the ominous “more machines spotted” tag to set up a sequel. God, I hope it isn’t made. ★½

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is now the second sequel (and a fourth film already announced!) in the magician/heist series, though it has been nearly a decade since the last. I really liked the first, didn’t think much of the second, but this newest brings in the director from the Zombieland and Venom movies, so I was hoping for a good one. It opens (we think) on the original Four Horsemen: Daniel Atlas, Merritt, Jack, and Henley (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Isla Fisher, returning after being absent from Part 2 during a real-life pregnancy). They put on an underground show and steal a bunch of money from a rich asshole, before Robin Hood-ing it to the average Joes in the audience. Turns out it wasn’t the horsemen though, it was 3 new, younger magicians named Charlie, Bosco, and June, masquerading as the famed Horsemen team. They are soon after visited by the real Daniel Atlas, who says he’s been told to recruit them all for a super-secret, super-big heist by the mysterious mystical society known as The Eye. Their goal, it seems, is to steal the large and valuable Heart Diamond from Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), whose mining company launders money from some of the world’s worst people. Atlas and his new proteges meet up with the rest of the Horsemen, also recruited by The Eye, and set out to fool Veronika and the world at large, with more guest appearances from the first two movies (including Morgan Freeman and Lizzy Caplan, who filled in during Fisher’s absence). Lots of magical hijinks. The movie starts off rocky, and I had the same general complaints as I did from the last film, but it ends much better, with a grander “tada!” moment in the finale. However, with another film coming, I think it’s time I get off this roller coaster. ★★½

Been awhile since I saw a Jim Jarmusch film; Father Mother Sister Brother is his newest. In a throwback to earlier Jarmusch films, it is set up as 3 separate vignettes. Father is about two adult children (played by Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik) visiting their father (Tom Waits). No one seems to want to be there, and while the kids are wondering how Dad is doing financially, he is hiding his Rolex and expensive car in the garage. Kids don’t want to be there in Mother either, where sisters (Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps) are doing their yearly afternoon tea visit with their mother (Charlotte Rampling). Both girls are trying to measure up to their mom, a successful author. The final act, Sister Brother, has siblings (Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat) going through their parents’ belongings after their sudden death in a plane crash. Not sure what to make of this movie. It has some very touching moments, some very sad ones too, but is short on the deadpan humor you’d expect from a Jarmush film. Almost seems like the director had a couple ideas for the makings of a couple movies, but then said, “Shit, we’ll just make 1 movie with an all-star cast, and just do this.” And of course, if you are an actor and Jim Jarmusch says, “Wanna be in my movie?” you of course say yes. ★★

Rental Family is a fun, family-type, old school comedy drama starring Brendan Fraser, the latest in his comeback to the movie industry. He plays Phillip, an American who came to Tokyo years ago for an acting job, but who stayed and hasn’t exactly been the most successful. Struggling to make ends meet, he takes a job at a “family rental” company. Need an American at your funeral? Check. Need someone to play as your boyfriend so you can tell your family you are moving to America? Check. What he doesn’t plan for is growing to really care for the people who hire him. A single mother is hoping her bright daughter can test into a really good school, but knows a solid home life is part of what the school will look for. The mom hires Phillip to be the little girl’s “dad,” but to keep it authentic, she tells her daughter that Phillip really is her long-lost father, who’s been living in America all these years. The girl believes it, and while obviously hesitant at first, the likable Phillip wins her over and the two grow a close bond over the coming weeks. However, Phillip is wracked with guilt, because he knows he’s going to break this girl’s heart when she learns the truth. Not a complex movie, but does elicit complex emotions. I wish it had ended 5 or 6 minutes earlier than it did, because they couldn’t help but Hollywood the shit out of the ending. Still, a nice film. ★★★

Happyend takes place in the near-future, again in Tokyo. It follows a group of 5 high school friends, and particularly focuses on best friends Yuta and Kou. Yuta is completely carefree and goes with the flow, but Kou always has a small chip on his shoulder, partly from his upbringing. Though his family has lived in Japan for four generations, he’s of Korean descent, which as you know has a complicated historical relationship with Japan. Many of the students at school are middle or upper-middle class, but Kou alone among his friends has to work to help his family. When the group of friends pull a fantastic practical joke on the school’s principal, the man flips out and installs a state-of-the-art surveillance system in the school, which identifies students based on AI and docks them points for transgressions like smoking, flipping the bird, or inappropriate attire. This, against the backdrop of an increasingly nationalist government (like in many nations across the globe these days), with the new head of state of railing against immigrants. Kou’s family starts facing racism, and Kou becomes active in protests, while Yuta continues his laissez faire attitude. It’s a great film, a microcosm of right vs left in today’s society, and would maybe open some eyes (though doubtfully would change minds). ★★★★

Tornado is just the second movie from writer/director John Maclean; his first, Slow West, was a decade ago, and I thought at the time that this was a great up-and-comer. That hasn’t panned out yet, but my thoughts haven’t changed after this movie. It begins with action immediately: a young Japanese woman, whose name we later learn is Tornado, is running from a gang of thugs through 18th century Scotland. We don’t even know why she is being chased, only that the men mean business. When she hides in a large house, the group rough-houses the owners while searching for her. We then get a flashback to what started the chase. The men have just stolen a couple sacs of gold, before coming across Tornado with her father, a former Samurai warrior, performing a puppet show. Somehow Tornado ends up with the gold, and in protecting her, her father is killed. She runs, and thus the chase. Back to the present, she is able to elude them, even as the group performs more atrocities in the area, until she is able to start exacting her revenge. The film is a bit uneven, with some really great, startling moments, but others that feel rushed, and not given enough time to breathe (which is an odd thing to say about a film that moves at a languid pace at times). There are swaths of gentle, slow drama intermittent with quick bursts of extreme violence. However, it’s a good homage to the classic samurai genre, and told in a unique and startling way, even if the film itself isn’t all that unique. ★★★½

Peter Hujar’s Day is a two-actor show, starring Ben Winshaw and Rebecca Hall as Peter Hujar and Linda Rosenkrantz. It’s based on a true event, when in the 1970s, Linda had an idea for a new book in which she’d interview people about what they did the day before. Peter Hujar, a popular photographer at the time, was this day’s subject. Based on the description, I was thinking along the lines of My Dinner With André, which I absolutely adored, but it’s more akin to watching paint dry. They literally just talk about what Peter did that day. If you want to hear every inane event, sure, knock yourself out, but I could not get through this movie. 30-ish minutes in, it came down to turning it off or falling asleep. ½

• TV series recently watched: Tehran (season 3), The Studio (season 1)
• Book currently reading: Paul of Dune by Herbert & Anderson