I take her side on the stolen sex tape. I don't believe it was released for publicity reasons (she was already one of the most known people in the world at that time so she didn't need any more publicity). And the violation to have something so personal and broadcast like that, I don't think you can truly appreciate it unless you've been through it (but I can only imagine). So her going after the media for it I think is somewhat justified.

ALICE, DARLING

Anna Kendricks plays Alice, a young career woman who's in a psychological and emotionally abusive relationship with Simon (Charlie Carrick). Not all forms of abuse are physical in nature and this film explores those tropes, which there's plenty of from Alice constantly pulling her own hair out, disassociated from her friends whom she's on a week-long vacation with, dropping whatever she's doing to answer his texts & phone calls, sending him pictures on demand, etc. Alice feels guilty because she lied to Simon, saying she had to go to Minnesota for a work trip when in actuality, she went on a trip with her best friends Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) to celebrate Tess' 40th birthday. Again, at first Alice is distant from her friends until Alice and Tess work through there issues, things return to normal until Simon unexpectedly arrives. The film is blatant and almost too over-the-top with the signs Alice is displaying that the audience and her friends can clearly see yet Alice chalks it up to "her love for Simon." I do applaud the effort to deal with such a topic that doesn't get enough attention while balancing and not making this another misogynistic, feminine, all men are pigs story. Yes, Simon is the villain and an extremely manipulative and unlikable character, which he's supposed to be; however, the film doesn't go off the rails assuming all men are Simon. Kendrick does a wonderful job with the character. 6/10

THE LAST WAVE (1977)

David Burton (Richard Chamberlain), Australian tax lawyer with a happy suburban family and home, takes on a pro bono case to defend five Aboriginal people accused of getting drunk and murdering one of their tribe. The defendants won't say anyhing about the event, but one of them, Chris (David Gulpilil) reluctantly gives him some vague but menacing clues, apparently because he senses a long-ago connection. Chris and his shaman send Burton idisturbing visions and dreams, all against a background of record rain and hail storms, black rain, overflowing bathtubs--a watery hint of apocalypse to come. The plot doesn't always hold together or lead in a straight line. But the movie is all about eeriness, suspense and ever-darkening mood as Burton increasingly leaves behind his rational white world and plunges into Aboriginal mystery and power. Very effective, and well acted, especially by Gilpilil and Chamberlain.

CORSAGE

Set in Vienna in 1877, this is a fictional tale of aging Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Vicky Krieps) - and by aging I mean she's turning 40. However, known for her youth and beauty, she's now looked upon differently that he looks are beginning to fade away. Elisabeth is an independent and strong-willed woman, struggling to "set a good example" or "being a proper Empress" within the confines of the system and the expectations of the time. The film is average at best, told within a 1-year timeline that strings together thinly held together scenes. The only recognition I can give this film is for Vicky Krieps, who puts together another very enjoyable performance and is able to flex her linguistic abilities with displays of German (the primary language of the film), English, with a dash of French. 5.5/10

HANGOVER SQUARE (1945)

Yes, a Victorian Era film noir! George Bone (Laird Cregar), a promising classical composer in London, blacks out when exposed to loud noises and goes violent--murderous--then remembers nothing of the incidents. He seeks help from a Scotland Yard doctor (George Sanders) who assures him he's done no wrong. Then he falls for Nedda (Linda Darnell), a cheap barroom dancer and singer, who cons him into writing pop songs for her, then dumps him for a younger, better looking gigolo. He disposes of her in a gruesome way, then recovers to play piano for his new, make-or-break piano concerto. He gets another attack, and it all comes crashing down, with the concerto (written by the inimitable Bernard Herrmann) fueling the drama. This was Cregar's last film (he died of a heart attack due to excessive dieting)--an always interesting actor who gave his best here. The rest of the cast is first rate, as is the script, direction and fiilming. Really good.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA

The third and possibly final solo Ant-Man film also kicks off Marvel's Phase Five and by now, I'm glad the little guy has his chance to shine as he is an overlooked character. The stakes are high on this film as Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), his daughter Cassie (played by newcomer Kathryn Newton), Hope Van Dyne (Evangline Lilly), and her parents Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) are all transported to the Quantum Realm. Broken off into 2 factions upon their arrival (Scott/Cassie and Hope/Hank/Janet), they attempt to find each other but while doing so, learn about Janet's previous experience in the Quantum Realm, as well as cross paths with Marvel's newest big baddie Kang the Conqueror (played deliciously by Johnathan Majors). Visually the film is almost a Star Wars/Marvel crossover. A simple enough story about family and a father who'll stop at nothing to protect his daughter. Majors here is the brightest shinning star, which is quite the compliment considering the rest of the A-list talent he's sharing the screen with. He's a devil in disguise: enormously powerful but he's seductive with his soft spoken manner. I'm very much anticipating how he continues his journey through phases 5 & 6 but brilliant casting on this one. Maybe the best Ant-Man of the trilogy (honestly it's been a while since I've seen the first 2) and my only knock was the final battle between the family and Kang as a few times it became too much visually. 6.5/10

SHARPER

An Apple TV exclusive and another hit from my favorite studio, A24, SHARPER is a very fun, solid, delectable story featuring the likes of Justice Smith, Briana Middleton, Sebastian Stan, Julianne Moore, and John Lithgow. The premise is a little hard to describe in detail without giving away too much but all I'll say is it's about a group of con artists and how they connect to each other as the film progresses. The movie takes its time to establish the story and characters so be patient with it but there's plenty of surprises to keep you guessing and invested along the way. With the amount of surprises the audience is treated to, it reminded me of my first viewing of 1998's WILD THINGS. I know we're only 7 weeks into the new year but this is already in my top 5 for the year as it's been a pretty slow 2023 thus far. 7.5/10

COCAINE BEAR

Loosely based on a true story in Kentucky of a bear ingesting cocaine in 1982. The film takes place in Georgia in 1985 and follows 2 different story lines amongst the characters who all cross paths with the hopped up bear: a mother (Keri Russell) with the help of Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) attempting to find Russell's daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and her friend Henry (Christian Convery) who are lost in the woods and on the run from the bear; a drug dealers (Ray Liotta's) son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and his accomplice Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) who go hunting through the woods, attempting to recover as much of their cocaine as they can before the bear continues to hit it while being followed by a Tennessee policeman Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.). The film is a lot of fun and the name is enough to get anyone to pause on it for a second; however, I was slightly disappointed as most of the laughs were included in the trailer outside of a few cheapies in the film. Also, the story branches out more than necessary with an influx of characters. This should not have been this difficult as it's a straightforward story not a Shakespearian play. Regardless, the premise is so outlandish and unbelievable it's begging audiences to take a chance on it and if you do, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Rumors are a sequel is already being thought out with the story being a shark being coked up; but it'll obviously depend upon how well this is received at the box office before a sequel will be greenlit. If one is given the go ahead, I'll be there as well! 6.5/10

We saw it last night, we enjoyed it, very creepy….. good acting.

Scale of 1-10, what would you give it?

I've never enjoyed M. Night's movies. I love a good creepy movie, but he's one of those directors I tend to avoid lol. Maybe I need to give him another shot

THE VISIT turned me into a fan of his again but his last 2 movies OLD and KNOCK AT THE CABIN haven't been that great. M. Night is a director who always hinges his bets on the twist ending and if it doesn't deliver, then for me, the film's a letdown because he hedges his bets so much on the ending.

I think your 6 is solid and figure to give it the same…maybe another 1/2

6.5

CREED III

Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is now retired, instead promoting fights rather than participating in them. That is until an old childhood friend Damian (Johnathan Majors) comes back into his life, seeking to reestablish his early and brief amateur boxing career before serving an 18-year prison sentence. I'll start off by saying each CREED film is solid and can stand on its own. Rarely do you see all 3 films maintain a consistent level of excellence but all of these films do. That's why if they decided to make a 4th, I'd be down for it again. Some of Michael B. Jordan's best work has been his portrayal of Apollo Creed's son and this is no exception. Switching gears in his career and dealing with enormous guilt over his friend's incarceration (which he somewhat had a hand in), the story between him and Damian is very rich and it's easy to feel compassion for both fighters. Whereas Majors steals the show again as his stock is quickly rising in Hollywood. Both are in peak, physical shape but Damian has this exterior innocence to him outside of the ring that suckers you in. Inside of it, he's a brawler and a very raw and unorthodox boxer, which was refreshing to see someone have a different style of fighting rather than what audiences have traditionally seen in boxing films. My only grips with the film were the end felt slightly rushed. The training montage and especially the match between Adonis and Damian left me wanting more. My other disappoint was the lack of involvement of one Rocky Balboa. Outside of that, the film packs a lot of punches and audiences will be pleased with the final results. Props to Jordan on his directorial debut as well. Better than CREED I and on par with CREED II for best in the franchise. 7.5/10

OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE

Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham reunite for another wacky, funny, and action-packed adventure while also featuring quite the ensemble with Aubrey Plaza, Hugh Grant, Cary Elwes, and Josh Hartnett. The basic premise of the story is something gets stolen from a laboratory that can have a cataclysmic impact on the globe. It's then auctioned on the black market for the highest bidder hellbent on world destruction. What is stolen and how it works isn't revealed until midway through. However, the story isn't the reason you're watching the film, but rather the cast. Each individual chews up their respective scenes, almost dueling it out in front of the audience. Statham is the main star and balls of the operation. He has no fear, is always calm under pressure, and has a taste beyond his means. Plaza is the computer savvy tech hack who supports all of Statham's moves, and is just as valuable behind a desk as Statham is in the field. I applaud the efforts of Ritchie for making the character more than one dimensional. She's smart, funny, beautiful, and can handle a weapon. Elwes leads this team for the British government while Grant masterfully plays the villain and is the middleman between the buyers and sellers. He's also obsessed with movie star Danny Francesco (Hartnett) and that's how Elwes' team is initially introduced to Grant via Danny, who is the trojan horse in this play. Not an A film from Ritchie but it's most definitely a solid B and if you enjoy fun character studies, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this. 6.5/10

WATCHER

Young married couple Julia (Maika Monroe) and Francis (Karl Glusman) move from New York to Romania when Francis is promoted at his job. Both are Romanian, however, only Francis speaks the language. This creates untenable isolation on the part of Julia, who we're told was a former actress back home but it didn't pan out. Now in a new country, not knowing the culture, customs, or language, she's at an impasse on what to do with her life. She soon begins learning Romanian but more times than not she's left drinking by herself in her apartment, waiting for Francis to come home from work. During this time there's a string of murders, with the victims being young, beautiful women. Her apartment has huge windows in the living room and bedroom and from time-to-time, she people watches. Although, one of her neighbors across the street engages in the same activity whenever she does and she becomes paranoid that he's following her and could be the perpetrator behind the recent killings. It's a psychological thriller that attempts to present itself as Hitchcockian with an obvious REAR WINDOW motif. Monroe is fantastic as the frail, fish out of water American who tries to convince her husband of her suspicions while constantly being rebuffed by him. In addition, a lot of Romanian is spoken but no subtitles are given to the audience, allowing us to experience Julia's isolation and at times, frustration for not being in the know to the circumstances around her. I've been a fan of Monroe's ever since IT FOLLOWS but outside of her performance, this isn't worth a watch. 6/10

SCREAM VI

The 4 survivors of SCREAM (2022) have all relocated to New York: Tara (Jenna Ortega), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and Chad (Mason Gooding) to attend college while Sam (Melissa Barrera) attempts to keep an eye on her baby sister. As with any sequel, the audience knows what to expect: bigger body count, more gruesome murders, etc. and although the level of violence is turned up, I don't believe it's done in a gratuitous way. As last year's Scream followed the original, this gave off a very SCREAM 2 vibe other than just the story taking place outside of Woodsboro. Overall, I'm more satisfied with this entry than I was with last year's; however, this was the first and only Scream I was able to figure out who the killer(s) was before the halfway point (which was a let down). And my biggest grip with this is the reasoning for his/her/their killing spree as it yet again comes off light. As you can guess, the film leaves itself open to a third entry, which now will probably come in a few short years because the basic rule of any horror franchise is quantity over quality. With the exception of the opening kill scene, which has a nice and new hook to it, everything else here is again regurgitated. 7/10

Here’s a favorite of mine: Master & Commander

My favorite Russell Crowe movie ever !

https://twitter.com/darkhorizons/status/1551097462936715264

Why Are So Many Guys Obsessed With Master and Commander?

https://www.gq.com/story/master-and-commander-anniversary

Patrick O'Brian's series of 20+ novels is wonderful.

SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS

Billy Batson and his family are back for another adventure, this time squaring off with the Daughters of Atlas (Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler). They come in search of their fathers staff, which Billy broke in the first film. Once in possession of the staff, they'll have the power to end our world and reimagine their own. I'll be honest, I haven't seen the original SHAZAM! in a few years but I remember having a lot more fun that time around than I did with this installment. One issue I can point to is the film wasn't as funny as the first, but to be fair, the subject matter is also darker too. Maybe it's superhero fatigue or how similar Shazam is to Black Adam, who just had his film released 5 months ago, but I struggled to get into this story. In addition, there's a stark and obvious difference with the Daughters of Atlas, and I'll address the elephant in the room: age. Nothing against any actress as I'm a fan of all of them but having 77-year-old Mirren, teaming up with 54-year-old Liu, with 21-year-old Zegler feels awkward. Mirren and Liu team up for much of the film while Zegler has her own storyline (and yes, I'm fully aware that they're "gods" so age doesn't matter but onscreen, it comes across otherwise). Zachary Levi shines again as the adult Batson/Shazam, being a teenage kid in an adult body with superpowers. He's fun, animated, and childlike, he genuinely takes pride in the character and franchise. We're unsure with DC's new hierarchy where Shazam will land going forward but obviously there's more stories to be told but it'll also depend upon the box office. Unfortunately, the theater I was in wasn't very full so I'm afraid this may pull in even less than it's predecessor. 6/10

BOSTON STRANGLER

Set between the years 1962-1965 and based upon true events, the story follows reporters Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) and Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) who discovered the pattern of the killings that terrorized the city during a period of time where women were expected to tend to more domesticating duties. Unfortunately, this is a water downed version of what could have been a great movie. None of the slayings are shown onscreen, more than likely out of respect for the victims, but also because this is not that type of movie. Due to the time period, there's obviously sexism working against the women that's briefly discussed but before long the training wheels are off and the women are able to do their job with the support of their superior Jack Maclaine (Chris Cooper). However, the film seems to be a retelling of events with little tension or emotional connection with the audience. The victims screen time is minimal so they become faceless victims in a way. The premise was there, getting actors such as Knightley and Cooper on board validates it, but the execution was too safe and lukewarm. I will hand it to the marketing department for releasing it on St. Patrick's Day (points for that one). 6/10

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

I gave this iconic Kubrick movie another try to see any reason why so many see it as "profound," "artistic triumph," "Kubrick's masterpiece," etc. All I found was boredom---endless, painfully slow sequences of outer space with grand music, or heavy breathing, or...I dunno what. The "plot" falls off the edge of space, the ending is beyond ridiculous, the whole thing seems as if Kubrick, fascinated by his clever special effects (I give him that), can't let go of them, and never mind making the movie interesting for any part of two hours and nineteen minutes. Never again.

I felt the same way for a few viewings but have since warmed up to it. The effects (especially for 1968) are breathtaking. The score is amazing but I agree the story can drag in parts and the ending is difficult to make sense of. Kubrick's masterpiece to me is A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and THE SHINING.

Agree on "Clockwork" and "Shining," Irishman. Cannot overstate the impact both movies had when they were released, especially "Clockwork."

My favorite Kubrick film is Full Metal Jacket followed by The Shining. I agree about 2001: A Space Odyssey. Was probably groundbreaking in 1968, but I always thought it was boring.

I like FULL METAL JACKET until they get out of boot camp. The second half of the film in Vietnam really drops off for me.

My thoughts exactly.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

Following the events of Chapter 3 and the unsuccessful attempts by the High Table's hired guns to kill John, the Table now tries their luck with Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) who in turn enlists former Wick alley and friend Caine (Donnie Yen) to stop John. The film has various locations around the globe but is primarily based in Paris. Plenty of head shots, fisticuffs, and muscle cars as we've come to expect from the franchise along with some breathtaking European set designs and wardrobe's. Skarsgård and Yen are more fantastic gets to add to the already impressive talents who've graced the screen with Mr. Wick. With a runtime of 2 hours and 49 minutes, the fight scenes are afforded to be longer. And while this franchise continues to innovate and set the bar each time out, my only gripe with the film was by the end of it, it can feel like too much of a good thing and you've already had your fill while still trying to glutton yourself on dessert after a full meal. The film was a little long and was almost the equivalent of 2 movies in 2. However, if they decide to make a fifth or a spinoff, I'll be there. 7.5/10

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

When I originally saw the trailer, it had no affect on me and my level of interest was zero. However, after their big night at the Oscars, I decided to give it a shot to see what all the praise was about and I've gotta be honest, I don't understand it? I don't see what's so great about the film. Yes, it is somewhat funny with a heartwarming story that unfolds; however, about 45-60 minutes into it, I was already done. You're not supposed to say the quiet part loud but I'm going to: this won at the Oscars for one reason and one reason only, DEI. It's an average film at best that won due to weak competition or films that were overlooked that should have easily won but were snubbed for Best Picture and Best Director (and yes, I'm talking about THE WHALE and Darren Aronofsky). Within a year this film will be forgotten. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy Laurie Strode won an Oscar (surprised in fact as the buzz heading in was Angela Bassett would win), as well as Ke Huy Quen who will always have a special place in my heart like so many others for Data and Short Round. Finally, isn't it cultural appropriation for Daniel Scheinert to direct basically an all Asian cast? Just asking. 5.5/10

Lol I agree with you I. Some of these "big" Oscar movies are absolutely horrible. I did not get this movie at all. There was NOTHING special about it. But I am glad that Angela Bassett didn't win and Jamie Lee did get her day in the sun. Jamie should've gotten an Oscar years ago. She's fab! And always been fab.