|
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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