Movie of the Week

2026 | 2025 | 2024

Date Click poster for preview Including star ratings: 10, 9, 8, 7★, 6★, 5
5-11-26 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 9★

"I can simply watch Ralph Fiennes act all day. He's perhaps the greatest actor of his generation, and he takes career chances, as evidenced by this role. There are also two simultaneous plots at play: The first centers on Spike's kidnapping by the Jimmy gang, led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. These thugs terrorize any human survivors, while adeptly slaughtering the undead. These brutes are definitely channeling A Clockwork Orange. The other plot sees Dr. Kelson's contact with the alpha zombie he calls Samson."

5-4-26 Falling Down (1993) 8

"... we are blessed to sit back and appreciate Jamie Foxx as he becomes the legend. His quirky performance is eerie, as he mimics Ray's every mannerism. It helped that Foxx could play piano, but he didn't sing for the film - for that, they used recorded versions Ray's voice. Foxx deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar. Though this film airs some of Ray's demons, it is more about the obstacles in his path and the eventual redemption that he earned."

4-27-26 Falling Down (1993) 9★

"At one time or another, most of us feel like blowing our tops, letting loose. Luckily, we keep it in check, thanks to internal control mechanisms, a desire to not hurt anyone or go to jail. The genius behind this film is that we sympathize with Mr. Foster. He works hard at a good job, but it just takes from him all the time. We all know how that feels. He's frustrated. He's had enough. Michael Douglas' chose to play against his usual type of role, and he renders a stellar performance."

4-20-26 Citizen Kane (1941) 9★

"I am not pretending that I understood everything back then at the impressionable age of 24, but I do remember the story was dark and depressing - this man was a taker, a narcissist. He loved money and power and nothing else. Based loosely on real life media barons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, Orson Welles crafted this epic with a confidence unequalled in Hollywood. I personally have always admired Welles' creative, askew usage of camera angles. He was a master at black and white film."

4-13-26 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 9★

"... this is more of an existential journey that toys with man's very reason for being. Humans are masters of technology, yet trust artificial intelligence too much. Where did our DNA originate? Where is it all heading? Upon viewing this film, I immediately felt its hand on the great space films that followed: Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979), and Contact (1997). This is certainly worthy of its title as one of the most influential science fictions films of all time."

4-5-26 Ben-Hur (2025) 9★

"This lovely film centers on one such couple, Agnes and William. Despite reservations from his parents (they are wary that the forest-loving Agnes is a witch), the pair marry and have three children. The magic here is how director Zhao takes her time in life's moments. This builds our relationships with the characters. When tragedy occurs, it's a literal gut-punch. The film's ending is masterful, a play within a play, that will, very possibly, restore your faith in the human experience."

3-30-26 The Departed (2006) 9★

"What a dream match-up: The director, Martin Scorsese, who made mob movies a household name, and the best upcoming Hollywood talent in decades. This film is a mixture of vintage gangster plot lines, sexy young talent, and Jack F'ing Nicholson, who deliciously portrays a Boston crime lord, based on actual mob boss Whitey Bolger. This film wonderfully delivers - it checks all the boxes: Complicated, conflicted characters - check. Awkward love triangle - check. Bloody shootouts - check. It's hard to find anything not to like."

3-23-26 Hanmet (2025) 9★

"This lovely film centers on one such couple, Agnes and William. Despite reservations from his parents (they are wary that the forest-loving Agnes is a witch), the pair marry and have three children. The magic here is how director Zhao takes her time in life's moments. This builds our relationships with the characters. When tragedy occurs, it's a literal gut-punch. The film's ending is masterful, a play within a play, that will, very possibly, restore your faith in the human experience."

3-2-26 The Lego Movie (2014) 9★

"There is no way a mature film critic such as myself can become emotionally involved with a bunch of Lego creations. That would be INCORRECT! It is so easy to enjoy this film. It's crazy, chock full of pop and comics references, witty... and so darn funny! Hats off to the script writers and animators. And Will Arnett may be the second best Batman voice in all of nerd-dome (nobody can touch Kevin Conroy's Batman). Here - Everything is Awesome - literally. Pew, pew, pew!"

2-16-26 Lonesome Dove (1989) 10★

"This epic saga is unforgettable, with its wonderful characters, converging story lines and brutally honest plot points. Capt. Call is a hard, determined leader. He's kept in step by his more laid-back partner, Gus, whose warm smile reminds me of my grandfather, Charley Straley. Charley was a lifelong Texas rancher... humble, hard-working, intelligent, apolitical."

2-9-26 The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) 8

"This is what might occur if the creators of Black Mirror decided to make a family adventure movie. It's the terror of SkyNet, but the Flintstone's are coming to the rescue. There's a very heartfelt sub-plot that will impact all dads and daughters in the audience. That plot even carries through when the Robots begin their world-conquering domination. There are too many witty one-liners to count..."

1-26-26 Winter's Bone (2010) 8

"Jennifer Lawrence - damn - she can act... like "move-over-Meryl" act. Here she stars as a hard-scrabble Ozark teen, Ree Dolly, who is trying to find her missing father to keep from being evicted... Lawrence simply dominates the screen as she fights, completely alone, to keep her family safe."

1-12-26 Train Dreams (2025) 9★

"Although the story is uniquely American, its themes are universal: love, friendship, bigotry, loss, redemption, death. It stops and takes its time to let little moments develop. A simple gesture becomes a painful memory, then a reason to keep on living. Here, like a quiet forest, we ache to hear every word from real men and women. The dialog is beautifully economical. These characters are real."

1-5-26 Bugonia (2025) 8

"Bugonia is an education on several fronts. Much of the dialogue reinforces that impossibility of arguing with a conspiracy theorists, a stress many of us feel today. As the captors interrogate Michelle, the tense, claustrophobic setting is smothering. Then, in a wink, the ending occurs and you have to discard almost everything into a nearby waste basket."

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