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Review: Eddington

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Official synopsis: I n May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor Ted (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico. Ari Aster is one of the most talked about directors of the last few years. He started off with a bat-shit crazy short, then made two great features, and his last go at the theater - Beau is Afraid - was a self indulgent mess. But still, Aster has promise. And despite not like Beau Is Afraid and not wanting to sit through a COVID movie, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.  Three people walked out of my showing of Eddington at various points, and they were the lucky ones. I didn't think it was possible to be worse than Beau Is Afraid, but Eddington manages to be completely insufferable and ultimately has nothing of substance to say. And granted, the lead character of Eddington is SUPPOSED to be insufferable. He's an anti-masker and general doofus, but I kept waiting...
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Review: The Assessment

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Official Synopsis:  In a climate change-ravaged world, a utopian society optimizes life, including parenthood assessments. A successful couple, Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Arayan (Himesh Patel) faces scrutiny by an evaluator, Virginia (Alicia Vikander) over seven days to determine their fitness for childbearing. When I first heard about this film coming off its festival run, I thought it sounded a lot like The Pod Generation , a 2023 film also about couples and pregnancy in the future, but the two films couldn't be more different. Where The Pod Generation was light hearted, The Assessment is uncomfortable. Mia and Arayan probably would be good parents, but Virginia puts them through the ringer in a way that will make you squirm in your seat. I love an Uncomfortable Dinner Scene ™ and boy does the Assessment have one.  All of the actors are putting in some of their best work here. Alicia Vikander is here to remind you that she is an Oscar winner and her range is on full display ...
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Review: Drowning Dry

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Official synopsis:  To celebrate Lukas'  ( Paulius Markevicius)  victory at the martial arts tournament and Tomas' ( Giedrius Kiela)  birthday party, their wives, sisters Juste ( Agne Kaktaite)  and Ernesta ( Gelmine Glemzaite) organize a weekend at the country house with their families. Then the two families must navigate a near tragedy that occurs.  Lithuania's entry for Best International Film at the Oscars earlier this year now finally sees its U.S release. I'm not familiar with director/cinematographer  Laurynas Bareisa prior work. Here, he takes us through stages of grief. Not always linear, not always cohesive, but real all the same. The film jumps back and forth between time making you question what really happened and how the family was driven apart. This is a film for patient people. You might think that's an odd thing to say about a film with a runtime of 88 minutes, but Bareisa streeeeeeeeeeeeeetches some scenes to the maximum. I actually w...
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2025 Emmy Nominations

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I'm a few days late with this post because (you guessed it) I've been traveling. But the 2025 Emmy nominations are here! Once again the Emmy voters voted like they've only seen 5 shows in some categories, but there are some nice surprises here.  Best Drama Series Andor The Diplomat The Last of Us Paradise The Pitt Severance Slow Horses The White Lotus I'm so happy to see Andor here after their amazing final season. I've seen 4 of the shows in this category, and others are on my never ending "I need to start this" list. I'm bummed for The Rings of Power, which never had a chance but I really enjoy.  Best Comedy Series Abbott Elementary The Bear Hacks Nobody Wants This Only Murders in the Building Shrinking The Studio What We Do in the Shadows I'm very happy for What We Do in the Shadows making it in for their final season. It really should win for how consistently hilarious it's been over 6+ years. I hear so many good things about The Studio and...
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Series Review: The Bear Season 4

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Hulu recently dropped season 4 of the much debated but beloved The Bear , so you know I was there to watch it. All 10 episodes went by very quickly, so here are my likes, dislikes, and hopes for season 5. LIKES * The cast is still top notch and I admire this show's commitment to the entire cast and not just the "main characters" They've made an effort to flesh everyone out. * The returning guest stars. It may have been kind of flimsy getting Will Poulter's character back in Chicago, but I loved it anyways. Luca is a great addition, as is the rest of the Ever crew that came along.  * This was Abby Elliott's standout season and I will scream if she's not Emmy nominated for it. Her fight with Neil in the office about Francie was hysterical.  * Syd's "I'm getting my hair done" and that guy responding "oh so like an hour?" COMEDY DISLIKES * Ebraheim's side story of expanding The Beef should be working, but the fact that it's...
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Review: 28 Years Later

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Official synopsis:  A group of survivors of the rage virus live on a small island. When young Spike (Alfie Williams) leaves the island on a mission into the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors. 28 Days Later is one of my favorite horror films and hearing Danny Boyle and Alex Garland would be back for another installment after skipping the sequel, 28 Weeks Later was enough to have me seated.  I have to say, the trailers did a great job of not showing you exactly what this movie was about. In fact, the film is kind of split into three mini stories. One of Spike and his dad (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) on a coming of age journey. The second, a survival story with his mom (Jodie Comer) and the third, encountering the doctor (Ralph Fiennes) he had been searching for. The ending also directly leads into the sequel that has already been filmed. More on that later. It's nice to see Danny Boyle with a budget consid...
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Review: Sally

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Official synopsis:  Sally Ride's groundbreaking journey as the first American woman in space concealed a deeply personal story. Her life partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, unveils their covert 27-year romance and its accompanying sacrifices. Sally Ride lived an extraordinary life that was taken car too soon by cancer. Her obituary was the first time the general public knew she had a female partner in Tam. Now, Tam shares their love story while Sally's friends and co-workers all share their memories of her work. You can tell this documentary was made with a lot of love. Even the classmates Sally had to essentially compete against speak of her fondly. Sally deserves way more credit for her amazing poker face in my opinion. Watching news clips of some of the dumb, sexist questions she and the other female astronauts got for *gasp* being women were so cringe worthy. She handled it with much more grace than I could've mustered. If this is your intro to Sally ride, I think the docum...
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