Netflix has kicked off its 2025 movie year with “Ad Vitam”, a French action thriller from director Rodolphe Lauga. As with so many movies of its kind, the pieces are there for a fun early year reprieve from the end of the year awards seasons crunch. If you look at it that way I suppose “Ad Vitam” fits the bill. At the same time it’s easy to see where it could have been so much better.

“Ad Vitam” (translated “for life”) is both perplexing and frustrating. Within its lean 98 minutes is a potentially exciting movie that unfortunately bookends an overly long and energy-zapping extended flashback. The movie’s fast start quickly grinds to a halt as Lauga, along with his co-writer and star Guillaume Canet, attempt to build some kind of backstory. But it falls short both in substance and in execution.

Canet plays Franck, a former gendarme who was recently dismissed from duty following a tragedy under his command. When we first meet him he’s working as a building inspector, scaling the bell tour at the Sacre-Cœur Basilica in Paris. One afternoon he and his very pregnant wife Leo (Stéphane Caillard) return home to find their apartment broken into and ransacked – the second time in two weeks. Franck is hesitant to take any action which raises Leo’s suspicions.

The story takes a dramatic turn when a group of heavily armed assailants bust into their apartment and take Leo hostage. It turns out that Franck has been hiding incriminating evidence that implicates powerful people in a grand conspiracy. After taking a pretty bad beating, Franck is told by the lead henchman (Johan Heldenbergh) that he has four hours to retrieve and deliver the evidence if he ever wants to see his wife again.

But then the movie takes an abrupt turn as Lauga jumps back ten years into a lengthy flashback. It shows Franck’s acceptance into the gendarmerie where he meets and eventually falls for Leo. It also introduces his best friends and partners, Ben (Nassim Lyes) and Nico (Alexis Manenti). All of their relationships feel real enough, but they aren’t that compelling. At least not until we finally see the tragedy that led to Franck’s dismissal.

After a good 30-40 minutes the movie finally switches back to the present day as Franck races against the clock before ending with a fun yet admittedly absurd action set piece. It’s not the most satisfying ending and it does little to punctuate what unfortunately is a threadbare story. There are glimmers of chemistry and Canet, Caillard, and Lyes certainly have the needed physicality. If only they had more interesting material to work with.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Michael Polish directs “Alarum”, a modestly budgeted action thriller that borrows so much from other movies that it has a tough time finding its own identity. But it’s helped out by Alexander Vesha’s script which features more pieces than a chess set. Not all of them fit together as they should or move the story forward as intended. But they keep things interesting and diverts our attention away from the film’s flaws.

Joe (Scott Eastwood) and Laura (Willa Fitzgerald) were high-value spies for their respected countries who met after she was assigned to kill him. But rather than carry out her mission, she fell in love with him. The two went off the grid, got married, and started a new secret life together. But as anyone who has watched a spy movie knows, you can’t just walk away from such a profession.

While vacationing at a mountain resort in Gdansk, Poland, Joe learns that Laura is working again. To make things even more complicated, a small plane crashes in the forest. While examining the wreckage, Joe discovers that the two pilots were both shot in the head. He also discovers a well hidden flash-drive which he secures before being interrupted by a mercenary named Orlin (Mike Colter). Orlin and his well-armed army are after the drive and immediately show they’ll do anything to retrieve it.

Elsewhere at a makeshift secret headquarters, the United States’ National Clandestine Service led by Director Robert Burbridge (D.W. Moffett) are alerted of the plane crash and surmise that the flash-drive is onboard. They also discover that Joe is in the area potentially working for a mysterious anti-intelligence organization called Alarum. It leads Burbridge to call on Chester (Sylvester Stallone), the agency’s lethal but messy assassin, to retrieve the drive and take out Joe.

Those are a lot of moving parts and Vesha’s script keeps the gears of his story turning at a fairly breakneck pace. Of course all of the players are destined to come together at some point. But before we do, Vesha treats us to some surprising alliances, just as many double-crosses, and a few reveals that are somewhat fun but not overall unexpected. It all culminates in a predictably violent climax topped with a tease for a sequel I’m not sure anyone will be in a hurry for.

While its story has enough kick to keep us moderately entertained, “Alarum” isn’t without its shortcomings, the biggest being with the action. There’s plenty of it, but too many of the scenes look cheap and inauthentic. And they aren’t helped by some hard-to-miss silliness along with a score that feels plucked from a 20-year-old video game (which admittedly has its charms but not for a movie like this). Meanwhile some of the dialogue will have you laughing for all the wrong reasons.

“Alarum” sports a notable cast, most of whom do their best to flesh out their fairly thin characters. The story leans on a number of familiar spy and action movie tropes, yet it twists and turns enough to keep us interested. But it hardly makes for anything memorable, especially when put alongside its room-temperature action which should be the backbone of a movie like this. Sadly it isn’t which is a key reason “Alarum” doesn’t quite hit its mark.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

Upon first hearing that Timothée Chalamet was set the play Bob Dylan in an upcoming biopic, I admit to thinking they could have found someone better. But after seeing him in the role of the legendary American singer-songwriter, I wondered who could have played Dylan better. Chalamet delivers a knock-out performance in James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown”, a beguiling biography based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties.”

Chalamet tirelessly prepared for the role, learning how to play guitar and the harmonica while immersing himself into Dylan’s iconic lyrics and singing style. Mangold certainly put the actor’s training to good use. It’s said that Chalamet performed an astonishing 40 songs for the film. But here’s the best part – he surprisingly nails them which not only enhances his performance but strips away any hint of artifice. For 141 minutes Timothée Chalamet is Bob Dylan and we never doubt it for a second.

Among the many good choices that make “A Complete Unknown” work is Mangold’s decision to hone in on one segment of Dylan’s fascinating life. This is no cradle-to-grave biopic. Rather it’s an ensemble movie that traces Dylan’s musical journey from his arrival in New York City to his unforgettable 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival which sparked controversy after he took the stage with an electric guitar much to the dismay of his devoted folk music fans. 

The film opens in 1961 with a 19-year-old Bob arriving in New York City after hitching a ride from Minnesota. He has made the trek in order to visit his idol, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) who was committed to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. While visiting Woody, Bob meets the beloved folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) who immediately takes a liking to the young aspiring singer. Pete is even more smitten with Bob’s songwriting and begins introducing him around the New York City folk scene.

From there Mangold and his co-writer Jay Cocks chronicle Bob’s rise to fame mostly through the relationships that helped pave his path. One of his earliest is with Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning), a character based on Suze Rotolo. Sylvie is more than just a love interest. She’s key in opening Bob’s eyes up to the troubled real world which would inspire so many of his hit songs. And more than anyone else, she encouraged him to sing his own songs after his manager Albert Grossman (Dan Fogler) gets him a record deal with Capitol Records.

The film also explores Dylan’s connection with fellow folk singer Joan Baez who is wonderfully played by rising star Monica Barbaro. Baez was already established when she first met Bob Dylan and she was one of the first to record some of his original songs which helped to put him on the map. Barbaro and Chalamet are terrific together, capturing the creative magic conjured whenever Baez and Dylan sang together while touching on the pair’s more tumultuous personal relationship.

The most fun of the supporting cast is Boyd Holbrook playing the great Johnny Cash. He doesn’t get many scenes but he steals every one he’s in through a performance that’s bursting with charisma. Holbrook gloriously channels Cash’s energy and swagger while adding a little flavor of his own to the character. Now I want another Johnny Cash movie with Boyd Holbrook playing ‘The Man in Black’.

While Mangold spends plenty of time delving into the personal life of Bob Dylan, he also takes us on a tour of American music history. Not only does “A Complete Unknown” honor traditional folk music and its impact on American culture, but it also shows how music was changing alongside that very same culture. That culminates in the film’s kinetic recreation of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan shocked fans and angered festival heads by playing electric rather than acoustic. His brief set has been called a watershed moment for both folk and rock music.

While “A Complete Unknown” sweeps you away with its focused storytelling, timeless music, and phenomenal performances, it’s also strengthened by its period-perfect production design and costumes as well as rich cinematography from Phedon Papamichael. But it’s James Mangold’s clear passion that brings it all together. It seeps from every pore of his movie. And while fans of the music may find more to enjoy, there’s so much else to love that transcends mere musical tastes. It’s a transporting musical journey and one of the year’s best movies.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

Writer, director, producer, and star Jesse Eisenberg has made a splash with “A Real Pain”, an emotionally rich and organically funny dramedy that follows two Jewish cousins on a trip to better understand their late grandmother’s past. In the process, the two end up learning more about themselves and each other. It may sound like a fairly conventional premise. But Eisenberg infuses his film with such humanity that he has no trouble earning our empathy.

The film opens with the two cousins meeting at the airport in New York City. Within seconds its easy to see that they couldn’t be more different. First is David (Eisenberg), an buttoned-up and tightly wound digital advertising specialist who lives in a comfy Manhattan brownstone with his wife and young son. And then there is Benji (Kieran Culkin), a crass but naturally charming free spirit who flies by the seat of his pants and has no problem sharing whatever is on his mind.

Like many cousins, David and Benji grew up close but drifted apart as their lives took different paths. But they’re brought back together by the recent passing of their grandmother. Both loved her very much, but we learn she had an especially close relationship with Benji. Now they are coming together to fulfill their grandmother’s dying wish – to take money she left them and travel to Poland to learn about where she came from.

After the pair reunite in New York, they fly to Warsaw where they join a small but intimate tour group led by a knowledgeable British guide named James (Will Sharpe). Filling out the group is a recently divorced middle-aged New Yorker named Marcia (Jennifer Grey) who is there to honor her mother, an African-born Jewish convert named Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) who survived the Ruwandan genocide and now seeks to better connect to his faith, and a somewhat stuffy retired couple, Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy).

One of the film’s biggest strengths lies in Eisenberg’s impressive ability to balance the heaviness of his movie’s themes with moments of levity. Culkin’s Benji brings an irreverent and rambunctious energy to the Holocaust tour group. And while that may sound incredibly insensitive, Eisenberg’s humanizing touch ensures sensitivity and pathos. The humor is organic to the characters and it compliments their arcs while helping to better define them.

“A Real Pain” has received a lot of buzz since premiering earlier this year at Sundance. In that time Culkin has garnered most of the attention and he certainly earns it. But his character (and by extension his performance) wouldn’t have the impact without the sturdy and on-point Eisenberg as his foil. Together they get to the heart of the movie which turns out to have more on its mind than just remembrance. It’s also a movie about reconnection, understanding, and finding your way forward. It asks several questions that have no easy answers. But it leaves us thinking about them which testifies to Eisenberg’s prowess.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

Regardless of the decade, most movie lovers have a soft spot for the films they grew up on. And they often have a similar soft spot for the actors and actresses who starred in them. That’s certainly the case for me, a proud kid of the 1980s. Sitting among the many names for me is Sylvester Stallone and Jason Patric. Both starred in several movies that I still love from the 1980s and beyond. And while their careers followed different paths, it’s great to seem them still making movies.

Stallone and Patric co-star in “Armor”, a new action-thriller from director Justin Routt. It’s a movie built on a simple and straightforward premise that’s ripe with old school action movie potential. Unfortunately “Armor” never hits its stride or builds the kind of excitement that it needs. And while they try, neither Routt or screenwriters Cory Todd Hughes and Adrian Speckert can generate enough depth to fill its light 88 minutes.

Patric tries to add some character playing James Brody, a man struggling with alcohol since the tragic death of his wife. James puts up a good front. He has everyone around him convinced he’s six years sober. He even goes as far with his ruse as to host regular AA meetings at a local church. In reality he hasn’t stopped drinking; he’s just gotten good at hiding it.

“Armor” is set during a sweltering hot Mississippi summer where James works as a security guard and driver for an armored truck company. He works alongside his son Casey (Josh Wiggins) who over time has grown bored with their job’s mundane routine. “I’d kill for some action”, the misguided young Casey says. If there ever was a kiss of death in an action movie it’s a statement like that.

Elsewhere we’re introduced to Rook (Stallone), the leader of a team of thieves who we see loading up automatic weapons, putting on bulletproof vests, and ironing out the final details of an upcoming heist. There’s nothing at all memorable about the underdeveloped team. Rook only stands out because he’s played by Sly. The rest of crew consists of a small variety of uninteresting archetypes.

While making a routine stop at a local credit union, James discovers an extra box to be picked up that’s not on their ledger. At first he declines to take it. But after the obnoxious bank president threatens to expose him for holding AA meetings on company time, James breaks protocol and sets out with the extra cargo. Bad idea.

Just outside of town, their truck is rammed by a black van that diverts them off route and across a closed rural Mississippi River bridge where another van waits on the other end. James and Casey find themselves blocked on both sides with nowhere to go as Rook and his heavily armed entourage converge. The majority of the film consists of a low stakes chess match between James and Casey in the back of the armored truck and a frustrated Rook who’s trying to get inside.

Despite its ripe scenario, “Armor” has a hard time mustering much excitement. Much of the time is spent with the two sides verbally jousting. We get a few pauses as Rook inexplicably steps back for stretches that only exist so that James and Casey can have some much needed father-son reconciliation time inside the truck. We do get a little tension within Rook’s crew, namely from the wildly over-the-top psycho named Smoke (Dash Mihok). But it’s a predictable angle with an obvious end.

“Armor” does deliver a couple of decent action scenes that make the most of the film’s obvious budget constraints. And screen vets Patric and Stallone do the best they can amid the hackneyed plot contrivances, room temperature family drama, and cheesy music drops. But try as they may, neither can energize the movie to the point of overcoming its frustrating flaws. “Armor” opens November 22nd in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 2 STARS