XD Now Playing
Wicked: For Good
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Peter Dinklage
Director: Jon M. Chu
Now Playing
Now You See Me: Now You Don't
Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco
Rental Family
Brendan Fraser, Paolo Andrea Di Pietro, Shinji Ozeki
• 103 min
The Running Man
Josh Brolin, Glen Powell, Lee Pace
Nuremberg
Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Richard E. Grant
• 148 min
Predator: Badlands
Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Sisu: Road to Revenge
Stephen Lang, Richard Brake, Jorma Tommila
88 min
Coming Soon
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldaña
Song Sung Blue
Kate Hudson, Hugh Jackman, Michael Imperioli
Ella McCay
Jamie Lee Curtis, Rebecca Hall, Ayo Edebiri
Anaconda
Steve Zahn, Jack Black, Paul Rudd
Greenland: Migration
Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roman Griffin Davis
Movie Guru's Current Movie Briefs
Since I write many of these briefs the day before the movies are released, what we have here are mostly ruminations on movies I have not yet seen. You will have to decide for yourself if these briefs have any value. I believe the less you know about a movie, the better chance you might enjoy it to the upside. Too many reviewers seem to go out of their ways to ruin for you with way too much information your upcoming movie experience. In fact my D graded Master’s Thesis proposed that reviews should be embargoed until after the opening weekends allowing moviegoers to see the movies fresh and without plot summaries taken right out of the press kits.
- Rental Affair
Brendan Fraser off his Academy Award performance as a very fat man is now in this pleasant looking interesting and watchable independent film. Recently small human relationship movies, good or bad, have trouble finding their audience. Best of luck to this one. I think it deserves to be a winner.
- Wicked For Good
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific is a classic American musical. The song Bali Hai is as good as it gets. If you are a musical aficionado and have not seen South Pacific, you are in for a treat. I have no opinion about Wicked and Wicked: For Good. In order to create a successful Broadway musical today, it is as much about the special effects as the actual music. I cannot criticize the Wicked duo when they are so beloved by fans of all types and ages. So be it, Enjoy the movies and ignore critics altogether.
- Running Man
Glenn Powell recreates the Arnold Schwarzenegger role in this adaptation of Richard Bachman’s (aka Stephen King’s) pulp novel from years ago. I am picky about running times. I really enjoyed the first Running Man timed in at a comfortable 101 minutes. Will this indulgent 133 minute version add to the joy or deaden the simplicity of the original?
- Now You See Me Now You Don’t
The third in the series of a team of magicians who play Robin Hood during big time heists. If you haven’t see the first two check them out on streaming if you can. It isn’t necessary but would be a test of how badly you want to see this latest.
- Keeper
Osgood Perkins of recent horror film fame comes out with a new one. A couple take a trip to a cabin hideaway and things go awry. It could be interesting. I will check it out. But distributors are dumping movies into theaters willy nilly and my preferences this week are Now You See Me Now You Don’t and Running Man.
- Muzzle: City of Wolves
This is probably a sequel to an unknown original called most likely Muzzle. Probably a low budget horror film. Do I have to stream a preview since I didn’t see one on any of the South Point screens? I am not up for another horror film (see Keeper brief), but have to face up to see two with both Muzzle:City of Wolves and Keeper.
- Nuremberg
Rami Malek is the psychiatrist who delves into the mind of evil played by Russell Crowe. Either you are for or against Nazi theater. I believe it is terribly difficult to recreate the reality of the Holocaust, but every effort is worth a look. Stanley Kramer’s 1961 Judgement at Nuremberg, a successful all star depiction of the Nuremberg trials,is definitely a film you should watch.
- Sarah’s Oil
I hope people get out and see this movie about a poor child gaining vast wealth from an oil discovery in the early 20th century. This is a true story that I know very well from an earlier 1950’s fiction movie, George Stevens’ Giant starring Rock Hudson as the giant Texas oil well tycoon who marries the Washington D.C. liberal Elizabeth Taylor, and both of them friend to poor employee James Dean who inherits a plot of land which he turns into his own path to riches when he strikes oil. There is much more to the film with jealousy and prejudice and a growing family that goes every which way. It is sad that theaters continue to play good films like Jaws and Back to the Future but ignore the great classics like Giant and Shane.
- Predator:Badlands
The preview surprised me with its PG-13 rating. Hard to believe. So what to expect from its previews? Much more Predator backstory, and possibly more humanity if you can call it that. I waill see it, but I will not be taking the grandkids even with its PG-13 rating.
- Regretting You
Sometimes these adaptations of best selling female author’s romantic fireworks jump to the front of the line. This may not be one of those. The female lead Allison Williams may have a future but for whatever reason Dave Franco gives me the creeps.
- Good Fortune
What might remind us of America’s economic disparities through laughter and Keanu Reaves playing an independent spirit as an angel. Keanu grouped with a financially impaired, desperate Aziz Ansari and an overly successful and miserably unhappy Seth Rogan should create a box office success. Not. The week’s winner, the envelope please, Black Phone 2, I am certain a bloodier and more sickening modern horror film than the first. Imho.
- Anemone
What is an anemone? Actually I sort of know but wonder why it would be the title of this movie. Are they trying to bury it before anyone gets the chance to see it/ Consummate artist Daniel Day Lewis returns to acting after eight years in retirement. Of course we who know his iconic performances beginning with My Left Foot will be first in line. But a quick warning. The film is written and directed by his son, a good enough reason for the Dad to return to the screen but maybe not a sign that this will be a movie deserving of great praise.
- One Battle After Another
Leonardo DiCaprio with Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn, directed by auteur Paul Thomas Anderson (look him up). Recently released Caught Stealing was a failed auteur madcap action film. One Battle After Another looks great for those us who want to see a successful auteur madcap action film. This could be the one.
- Superman
Written By Michael Harris
It feels like DC films have constantly been testing the waters lately. Due to the company’s many box office flops in recent years, DC decided that it would be in their best interests to reboot the franchise under James Gunn and Peter Safran. Superman plays it safe and uses what they know will work. With high stakes, honorable characters, and incredible graphics, the viewer is compelled to be invested in the story and its characters. However, the would-be dramatic scenes are undercut by the feeling that they were specifically made for the trailers, the main characters are seemingly one-dimensional even among moral dilemmas, and many subplots feel like they were cut. Still, Superman (2025) has a sort of originality that impresses me, even though its characters have been reused for decades. Overall, Superman is definitely a worthwhile watch for new and old fans alike as DC starts its new chapter. - F1
Written by Michael Harris
F1 does not recreate the wheel but refines it. It takes the successful pieces of other franchises and joins them together in order to appeal to a wide audience. The protagonist, Sunny Hayes (Brad Pitt), fills a John Wick archetype, where his growth to become the best at what he does is not shown, but left to imagination in the form of a legacy. Because the film was by the director of Top Gun Maverick, it was given the technical tools to make it appear accurate to real life Formula 1 racing. However, the movie still feels unrealistic due to its downplaying of the dangers of racing and a predictable story. Filled with unnecessary subplots and a long two and a half hour run time, F1 loses most of its emotional impact, but is still an overall good action movie that is worth watching. - Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Tom Cruise is a brute. In his Mission Impossible movies his stunt work really is impossible. The movies themselves have deteriorated over time, but the action is young Jackie Chan but with millions of dollars in preparation and invention backing up every death defying moment. This “final” impossible and the one before ir are more than I can handle though I am sure I will leave the theater in awe of an old man astounding us all.
- The Surfer
Another Nick Cage movie comes out of nowhere. And I am glad. Cage continues to step up to the plate and hit homers in movie after movie surrounded by young filmmakers all putting forth maximum efforts creating low budget genre hybrids. I could tell you a little bit about this movie but, as always, the less you know the better.