BE REEL

(Courtesy IMDb)   WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on May 12, 2025.   I believe one of the reasons that stories about children who befriend animals—or otherworldly creatures—still resonate and hold up are because they represent groups or that not only struggle communicating with each other, but more specifically understanding each other. Ditto how said friends bring those respective communities together, even in a small way. Language and communication are key in writer-director Isaiah Saxon’s new fantasy-adventure, The Legend of Ochi (A24’s first family film since Marcel the Shell With Shoes On ).  Set on an isolated island named Carpathia, where local residents struggle to survive a centuries-old conflict with the mysterious creatures that roam the forests—young boys are trained to hunt and fight, like Medieval knights—a shy young girl named Yuri befriends an injured baby Ochi (orange, furry, primate-type beasts with bat ears). Conv...

(Courtesy   IMP Awards )   WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on May 9, 2025.   My first viewing of the latest entry in the MCU had me place it somewhere between what you would expect from a Marvel movie and not what you would expect, considering a few cliched genre tropes and an abundance of CGI action on display. The more I think about it, though, I realize that the themes and ideas and characters here represent more of what we wouldn’t have expected. In one word, Thunderbolts* (yes, that asterisk is intentional) is surprising.  On the surface, the film is a high-concept assembly of anti-heroes introduced over the last couple of phases of movies and streaming series. From Black Widow , there’s Red Room assassin Yelana Belova (Florence Pugh), her surrogate father/super soldier Alexei Shostokov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and fellow assassin Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Then there’s the teleporting Ghost/Ava Starr (Hannah John-K...

(Courtesy   IMP Awards )   WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on May 2, 2025.   In the mid-1800s, author Charles Dickens spent roughly three years writing a manuscript about the life of Jesus of Nazareth titled, The Life of Our Lord . Although it wouldn’t be published until 1934 (more than 60 years after the author’s death), Dickens would reportedly read it to his children every year. That story is now the subject of a new computer-animated film from Angel Studios and CGI company Mofac.   The King of Kings opens with Charles giving a live reading of his beloved novel, A Christmas Carol , occasionally interrupted by his son Walter, who is fascinated with the story and legend of King Arthur. At the insistence of his wife Catherine, an impatient Charles tells his son the story of “the king of kings.” While uninterested at first, Walter soon becomes immersed in this epic and decades-spanning story about forgiveness and love....

(Courtesy IMP Awards )   WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on April 28, 2025.   After taking part in the Rocky spinoff series, as well as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, filmmaker Ryan Coogler tackles his first wholly original project. And a very personal one at that. Set in the 1930s Prohibition era in the Deep South, Sinners follows two gangster twin brothers who return to their hometown after being years away, and open a juke joint in the area over the course of one night. They and several others soon confront a great evil awaiting them, leading to an invasion thriller of sorts, on par with a gripping haunted house chiller.  Shot on a combination of Ultra Panavision 70 cameras (a 2.76:1 aspect ratio that’s very rare in the industry these days) and 70mm IMAX, Sinners is a genre-bending story in the guise of elevated horror (vampire horror, to be precise). Its opening narration not only highlights the power of musi...

(Courtesy IMDb)   WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on April 14, 2025.   A single mother goes on a date for the first time in months. When she starts receiving anonymous airdrops from a mysterious caller, which turn from nuisances to threats, her evening takes a nightmarish turn, questioning everyone around her and who could be behind it all. That’s one way to summarize this thrilling co-production between Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, and director Christopher Landon, who describes Drop as a commentary on the toxic use (and abuse) of social media.  The film’s primary restaurant setting (fictional, although it could pass for a real sky-high, culinary establishment) presents various characters, how they interact with their respective devices, and how they present themselves in general, which adds to the genre trope of “everyone is a suspect” (mentioned decades ago in Scream ). Add to that the use of home security cameras and bugged surv...

(Courtesy IMDb )   I have a confession to make. I have never played Minecraft . Back when it was first released, I had some students I used to tutor that would tell me about the original game and how it worked. From my understanding, it’s basically a world-building universe made entirely out of blocks. In addition, realms within that created world are discovered, as are the characters and creatures that occupy those worlds.  Many people (myself included) hardly had any hopes, let alone interest, for the big screen adaptation (courtesy Napoleon Dynamite  director Jared Hess) that was released earlier this year. The movie’s poorly-received teaser trailer apparently didn’t help, despite the odd casting of Jason Momoa (as former gaming champion, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison), Jack Black (as Steve, reuniting with Hess since Nacho Libre ), Oscar-nominee Danielle Brooks (as real estate agent Dawn), and young actors Sebastian Hansen and Emma Meyers (as siblings Henry and N...

WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on April 14, 2025.   In November of 2006, two Navy SEALs platoons were assigned to an outpost in Ramadi, Iraq, for a specialized operation. The new film, Warfare , written and directed by Alex Garland and Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza (one of the soldiers who lived through that battle), viscerally recreates this event in jolting and rumbling detail, as the mission goes south very suddenly and all hell breaks loose.  Told (mostly) in real time and from ground-level perspectives, this A24 release generally avoids the typical Hollywood flair that plagues many war pictures. While several young, up-and-coming actors portray members of these platoons (including Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, the latter of whom plays Mendoza), Warfare was reportedly based on interviews with those who were there (many of whom requested to keep their physical identities obscured). To its credit...

WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on April 4, 2025.   Known for his work on the Prime superhero series The Boys , as well as horror features like Scream and Companion , Jack Quaid headlines this genre-bending action-romantic-comedy about an introverted bank clerk named Nathan Caine, who has a rare-but-very-real condition where he can’t feel pain. His life changes when he falls for a pretty coworker named Sherry (Amber Midthunder). But when his bank is robbed (led by Ray Nicholson) and Sherry is taken as a hostage, Nathan goes on a risky mission to find and rescue her, becoming an unlikely hero—though he is in way over his head, and risking his own health and safety for another.  Readers and viewers should know up front that Novocaine is a violent and profane movie. More accurately, it pushes the envelope of graphic visuals and macabre sensibilities. There are some scenes of policemen being gunned down, while the main criminals are apparen...

(Courtesy IMDb)  WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on April 4, 2025.   By early 2023, up-and-coming actor Jonathan Majors had been receiving numerous accolades for his roles in shows like Lovecraft Country  and Loki , as well as films like Creed III  and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , the latter of which initially set him up as the antagonistic Kang in two highly-anticipated Avengers  movies. In the meantime, Majors headlined this dark drama about a relentless but shy amateur bodybuilder who desires success and notoriety, and the unhealthy lengths he puts himself through (both physically and psychologically) to get there. If anything, Magazine Dreams showcases what an incredible and committed actor he is .  Elijah Bynum’s sophomore directorial effort first premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize and received positive acclaim. It was set to be released by Search...

(Courtesy Rotten Tomatoes)   The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)  When the TV series Police Squad! was cancelled after four of the six filmed episodes originally aired in 1982, the ZAZ trio (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker) wrote and/or directed two more films together: the wacky spy parody Top Secret! (which marked the screen debut of Val Kilmer) and the dark comedy Ruthless People (starring Danny Devito and Bette Midler). They then decided to pursue solo careers. But not before collaborating on their final screenplay (along with frequent collaborator Pat Proft). When the Police Squad! series premiered on home video around this time, viewers started to pick up on its unique brand of deadpan, visual, and verbal comedy. Hence, a feature-length version of this very short-lived TV series—and solely directed by David—was born.  The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! also allowed Leslie Nielsen to reprise his role as the incompetent...