Glen Powell leads an intriguing cast in A24’s upcoming black comedy thriller “How to Make a Killing”. It’s John Patton Ford’s sophomore feature that follows his impressive 2022 debut “Emily the Criminal”. His script is loosely based on a 1949 British film titled “Kind Hearts and Coronets” which starred Valerie Hobson, Dennis Price, and Alec Guinness. A24 recently dropped the first trailer for this crazy looking confection and it leaves a good first impression.
Joining the everywhere man Powell is the everywhere woman Margaret Qualley. It also stars Bill Camp, Jessica Henwick, Topher Grace, Zach Woods, and Ed Harris. Powell plays Becket Redfellow, a disowned yet ambitious black sheep who begins thinning out his family line in order to become the sole heir to their $28 billion fortune. Henwick plays Becket’s girlfriend Ruth while Qualley plays his childhood friend Julia. Just judging by the trailer, this looks to be a blast.
“How to Make A Killing” releases in February. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and New Line Cinema are bringing one of the best horror movies of 2025 to home video. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is the fourth and final installment in the wildly popular horror franchise centered around paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as the renowned demonologists who reluctantly take on one final case that ends up threatening their family in ways they never expected. It’s a strong and fitting final chapter. Read my review [HERE].
This terrific 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition of “The Conjuring: Last Rites” includes a digital copy and will be available to purchase on November 25th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as a list of special features.
About the Film:
Year: 2025
Runtime: 135 Minutes
Director: Michael Chaves
Screenwriters: Michael ChavesIan Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie John-McGoldrick
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Steve Coulter, Rebecca Calder, Elliot Cowan, Kila Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon, Molly Cartwright, Tilly Walker, Peter Wight, Kate Fahy
Rating: R for bloody and violent content along with intense terror
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” delivers another thrilling chapter of the iconic Conjuring cinematic universe, based on real events. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reunite for one last case as renowned, real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in a powerful and spine-chilling addition to the global box office-breaking franchise.
Special Features:
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” Digital, 4K UHD and Blu-ray contain the following special features:
Last Rites: An Era Ends – featurette (8:45)
The Conjuring: Crafting Scares – featurette (8:40)
Netflix has dropped a new full trailer for the third installment in Rian Johnson’s wildly popular Knives Out franchise. “Wake Up Dead Man” is his latest whodunnit mystery and a standalone sequel to 2022’s “Glass Onion”. As before, Johnson brings back Daniel Craig who reprises his role as super sleuth Benoit Blanc. And like before, Johnson brings together another sparkling ensemble that includes Josh Brolin, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Jeffrey Wright, Thomas Haden Church, and more.
This time around, private investigator Benoit Blanc takes a case centered around the murder of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, a charismatic priest played by Brolin. As with any good whodunnit, Johnson then introduces to the wide number of possible suspects, many who are members of the victim’s very wealthy congregation. The first trailer looks like exactly what fans of the previous two films are looking for. And Johnson has shown the ability to keep his audience thoroughly involved till the very end.
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” releases in select theaters on November 26th and on Netflix December 12th. Check out the new trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
It’s nice to see actor James Badge Dale back on screen. After getting his start in 1990’s “Lord of the Flies, Dale would go on to work with Martin Scorsese in “The Departed”, play a key part in Steve McQueen’s “Shame”, star alongside Brad Pitt in “World War Z”, and lead Michael Bay’s Benghazi retelling “13 Hours”. He has always shown a wealth of talent, mostly in supporting roles. But then five or so years ago, he seemed to vanish.
Dale returned earlier this month with a sinister supporting role in the terrific “Violent Ends”. Now he gets an even meatier lead part in his latest film, “King Ivory”, a drug war crime thriller written and directed by John Swab. While Dale gets top billing, the movie relies on a larger ensemble to cover its rather bloated plot. And it’s those plot issues, along with some creative choices and a handful of spotty supporting performances, that hold the movie back.
“King Ivory” follows as many as five different storylines while introducing a host of different characters along the way. Of course the various paths eventually intersect to some degree or another and not always in the most worthwhile way. It ends up being a lot for Swab to manage. Hardened cops clash with violent cartel members over drug smuggling and human trafficking. Indigenous mobsters use Irish gangsters to keep the cartels in check. Fentanyl addicts ensure the money keeps flowing in. There’s a lot going on in Swab’s dark and violent world.
Image Courtesy of Saban Films
The majority of the movie is set in Swab’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dale plays Layne West, a police officer leading the local Special Investigations Division. The SID is a tectical unit who specializes in narcotics, gang violence, and organized crime. Layne and his team have their hands full due to the inflow of fentanyl into the city. It has led to an overwhelming rash of overdoses, addictions, and (of course) crime.
Meanwhile around Sinaloa, Mexico, a drug runner and human trafficker named Ramón Garza (Michael Mando) dangles the American Dream like a carrot in front of desperate locals. Those who pay his steep price will get smuggled across the border into the United States. Among his latest cargo is a bright teen named Lago (David Barcena). But during their journey, a terrible mishap leads to the deaths of 43 migrants with only Lago surviving. Ramón takes the boy to Tulsa and soon has him making deliveries to neighborhood addicts.
Elsewhere we learn that there’s a drug war in Tulsa with the biggest player being the Indian Brotherhood. It’s ruthless boss, Holt Lightfeather (the late Graham Greene) runs the operation from inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary where he’s serving a life sentence. He recruits George “Smiley” Greene (Ben Foster), a freshly released sociopathic killer to help wrangle in the cartels. Smiley carries out his orders with the help of his quietly terrifying mother Ginger (Melissa Leo) and his Irish ruffian uncle Mickey (Ritchie Coster).
Image Courtesy of Saban Films
And if that wasn’t enough story, we also get another thread involving Layne’s obstinate son Jack (Jasper Jones) who gets introduced to fentanyl by his junkie girlfriend Colby (Kaylee Curry). These should be the most sobering and eye-opening parts of the movie. But the kids and their relationships are fairly shallow and underdeveloped. And unfortunately their scenes are plagued by shaky acting which can be hard to look past. Thankfully their storyline does get better as it progresses.
Technically, “King Ivory” is a mixed bag. In an effort to add grit and intensity, Swab too often relies on aggressive closeups and unsteady handheld cameras. So much so that by the second half I was noticing every single use. On the flipside, the action-driven police raids are electric with DP Will Stone putting us in tight quarters with the officers as they clear out drug dens in the city. There is a real ‘you are there’ quality to these sequences.
Swab’s own personal experiences add even more to the film’s authenticity. He offers us a gloss-free look at the underside of Tulsa. Even more, Swab puts a ton of effort into presenting the uncompromising truth about our country’s current fentanyl epidemic. He tells a bleak, no-nonsense story that sometimes slouches towards cliché. But it remains serious-minded, and Swab’s willingness to mine from what he knows has a powerful impact that can be felt despite the movie’s shortcomings.
A24 has released a new trailer for “Marty Supreme”, the new sports(ish) comedy-drama that’s generating a lot of awards season buzz for its star, Timothée Chalamet. The film is directed by Josh Safdie who works from a script he co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein. Their story is loosely based on the life of American table tennis star Marty Reisman. Joining Chalamet is a fantastic supporting cast that included Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Fran Drescher, Abel Ferrara, Penn Jillette, and Sandra Bernhard. A24’s latest trailer gives us a broader look into what could be a surprise end of the year hit.
Set in the 1950s, Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a young and wildly ambitious New Yorker who dreams of becoming a champion ping pong player. No one believes in him or his pursuit which only inspires him to prove everyone wrong. He starts small, hustling in bars on the Lower East Side. But while his obsession with being great catapults him to the top, it also leaves a trail of casualties which contributes to the film’s deeper drama. The movie has looked better with each new reveal, and this latest trailer is the best yet.
“Marty Supreme” releases in theaters on Christmas Day. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is bringing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the very first time. Directed by Miloš Forman, the comedy-drama is considered by many to be one of greatest movies ever made. It’s also one of only three films to win all five major Oscars at the 48th Academy Awards. An all-star ensemble remains one of the biggest reasons this fascinating 1975 classic has stood the test of time.
This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” includes a digital copy and will be available to purchase on November 11th. See below for a full synopsis of the film as well as a list of special features.
About the Film:
Year: 1975
Runtime: 133 Minutes
Director: Miloš Forman
Screenwriters: Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Christopher Lloyd, Will Sampson, Brad Dourif, Sydney Lassick, Danny DeVito, Dean Brooks, Michael Berryman, William Duell, Vincent Schiavelli, Scatman Crothers, Peter Brocco, Alonzo Brown, Phil Roth, Nathan George
Rating: R for violence and language
A feisty misfit sent to a mental hospital inspires his fellow patients to assert themselves, much to the chagrin of the strong-willed head nurse, who turns out to be more dangerous than any of the inmates. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey and the play by Dale Wasserman.
Special Features:
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”Digital release and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc contains the following new and previously released special features:
Conversations on Cuckoo: Group Therapy (NEW)
Producer Michael Douglas leads a star-studded conversation with Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif on the unorthodox casting process that launched the careers of the famous ensemble fifty years ago.
Conversations on Cuckoo: Moviemaking Memories(NEW)
Memories of working with Jack Nicholson and director Miloš Forman and filming the Academy Award-winning film are shared by Producer Michael Douglas and cast members Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Brad Dourif.
Completely Cuckoo
A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, tracing the path from Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel to the 1963 Broadway play starring Kirk Douglas to the 1975 film that would sweep that year’s Academy Awards.
Keith & the Movies 