Tag Archives: movies

REVIEW: “The Plague” (2025)

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10

There’s so much to admire about Charlie Polinger’s gripping directorial debut, “The Plague”. It may also be one of the toughest films you watch due to its uncomfortably honest treatment of its serious subject matter – preteen bullying. This psychological drama pulls no punches in its depiction of cruelty masked as horseplay. And it doesn’t shun from showing the consequences. It can be bleak, but urgent and enlightening as well.

Polinger writes and directs the film which takes place in the summer of 2003 at the Tom Lerner Water Polo Camp for Boys. Ben (Everett Blunck) is a sensitive twelve-year-old who recently moved to the area from Boston. Ben’s home life isn’t the best, which is why he doesn’t mind going away to summer camp. But not knowing anyone has its challenges, especially for the anxious and awkward Ben. He finds support with his coach (Joel Edgerton), but fitting in with the other boys proves difficult.

Image Courtesy of Independent Film Company

Among the many compelling elements to Polinger’s story is his recognition of social structures, even among preteens. Here it’s a tight-knit group of six boys, who by shallow external measures might be considered the “cool kids”. Ben desperately wants to join their ranks, even enduring mockery from the pack’s alpha, Jake (Kayo Martin) in order to be accepted into their circle.

But deep down, Ben is a good kid, which is why he’s alarmed when witnessing some of the group’s antics. They’re openly loud and rowdy. But Ben learns they’re also crude and vulgar. Much worse is their cruelty which is seen most in their targeting of Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), an eccentric and introverted outcast. Jake claims Eli is the carrier of a highly contagious “plague” which the group uses to mock and ostracize him. As for Ben, his desire to win the group’s approval ends up blinding him to his own complicity.

Yet Ben’s conscience weighs on him which keeps him from being as cold and callous as the others. But his internal conflict seeps through to the surface after he dares to show compassion to Eli, even befriending him when no one else is looking. It immediately puts him in Jake’s crosshairs. Suddenly the group Ben desperately wanted to join has made him their prime target. It all makes for a heartbreaking chain of events that moves towards a finish that is as inevitable as it is troubling.

Polinger’s stylish and confident direction is helped by some truly standout performances from the mostly young cast. Blunck and Martin are especially strong, with each being fully convincing in dramatically different roles. Blunck conveys as much through observations as interactions, expressing Ben’s insecurities and anxiety despite his character working hard to conceal them. It can be a quietly devastating performance, but not without nuance. Martin is surprisingly sinister, hiding his ruthlessness behind a seemingly harmless smirk and curly mop of blonde hair. He’s both infuriating and terrifying.

Image Courtesy of Independent Film Company

As the film plays its hand, any obviousness is discarded in the final act. What begins as a unique spin on the coming-of-age formula turns darker, using dashes of shock and body horror to make us squirm. But Polinger never loses his grip on the material. And the final shot offers a ray of hope, depending on your interpretation. DP Steven Breckon shines, especially with his otherworldly underwater photography, while Johan Lenox’s score offers an unnerving mix of experimental and orchestral.

“The Plague” can feel a bit too broad at times, both with its handling of certain characters and anything resembling their motivations. It will also leave you with a handful of questions, none bigger than wondering where is the adult supervision? It can also be tough distinguishing between the real and metaphorical. But Polinger shows himself to have a remarkable vision, using the various arms of cinema to open our senses to a profoundly serious topic. Overall, “The Plague” is a remarkable and significant big screen debut.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “The Housemaid” (2025)

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15

Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried square off in Paul Feig’s “The Housemaid”, a movie that starts off as a fun campy throwback before nosediving in its final act by taking the cheapest and most predictable route available. It’s a shame because Feig has all the ingredients he needs, from a game cast to a genre formula that audiences tend to enjoy. But all of its entertaining buildup is wasted on a ridiculous and trite final act that narratively and thematically rehashes ideas we’ve seen several times before.

In fairness, “The Housemaid” is based on Freida McFadden’s 2022 novel of the same name and from all indications it sticks pretty close to the book’s central story. But if you’re unfamiliar with the novel and hoping for a movie with the slightest original punch, you might leave this adaptation disappointed. For me, seeing potential squandered for something this obvious is more frustrating than disappointing.

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate

Sweeney plays a young woman named Millie Calloway who we first meet as she’s arriving at a lavish estate in Great Neck, New York. There she meets Nina Winchester (Seyfried), a wealthy wife and mother who has invited Millie to interview for a live-in housemaid position. It’s an important opportunity for Millie who isn’t quite who she claims to be. While she hides it from Nina, we learn Millie is fresh out of prison after serving ten years of a fifteen-year sentence for a crime which comes to light later. And she needs a steady job to meet the requirements of her parole.

Millie gets hired and wastes no time moving into a cramped A-frame attic space in the Winchester’s home. The converted bedroom isn’t much, but it beats sleeping out of her car. Millie is also introduced to Nina’s young daughter Cece (Indiana Elle) and her hunky husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). It looks like the ideal scenario for Millie. Cleaning, organizing, some light cooking, and helping with Cece in exchange for living in a nice house with a nice family for a nice salary.

But of course Millie’s scenario turns out to be far from ideal. It starts with Nina’s wild fits of rage. She then begins lashing out at Millie, blaming her for things she hasn’t done. Things get even more twisted when Nina begins framing Millie to make her look foolish. In normal circumstances, Millie would quit on the spot. But she desperately needs the job to stay out of prison. Thankfully she finds an ally in the endlessly charming Andrew who routinely steps in to reassure and reinforce Millie with his dreamy eyes and winning smile.

Image Courtesy of Lionsgate

Without giving too much away, screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine wastes no time ratcheting up the drama before eventually turning the story on its head. Seyfried does unhinged well while Sweeney wins our sympathy and our suspicion. But neither performance hits every right note, mostly due the material. The script cunningly pushes both characters to their breaking point only to undo its own good work with a lame reveal that’s more interested in being relevant than original.

Sadly the predictable big twist lets all the air out of “The Housemaid”. Not only does it sour the good stuff that came before it, but it kills the film’s finish where things get wackier and bloodier. But even without the story’s eye-rolling “surprise”, the final 20 minutes are a wobbly mess. It’s an ending littered with arbitrary actions, an overly long explain-it-all flashback, and a final scene with ludicrous implications. But to be honest, by that point it didn’t really matter. The damage had already been done.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “Jay Kelly” (2025)

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5

File Noah Baumbach under ‘Filmmakers I’ll Watch No Matter What’. I have been drawn to his unique body of work since his early Wes Anderson collaborations. And I have enjoyed most of the films he has directed from high-spirited indies à la “Frances Ha”, to serious-minded dramas such as “Marriage Story”, to utterly bizarre concoctions like “White Noise”. I just love his eccentric style, off-beat perspective, and rich dialogue.

His latest is “Jay Kelly” and it’s very much a Noah Baumbach movie. Yet at the same time, it distinctly stands out in a number of interesting ways. Unlike Baumbach’s tightly focused settings, this one plays out on a noticeably grander scale. And rather than tell something more intimate, this time he broadens his story significantly. Even the filmmaking feels different, using a style that calls back to classic Old Hollywood productions.

In a nifty bit of casting, George Clooney plays the titular Jay Kelly, a celebrated actor whose existential crisis forces him to reevaluate what matters most in his life. The movie opens with Jay wrapping his latest film, “Eight Men From Now”. Jay’s hard-working and intensely loyal manager Ron (a terrific Adam Sandler) already has his famous client’s next feature lined up. But Jay throws Ron a curveball when he announces he’s pulling out of his next movie and taking a trip to Europe.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Jay’s out-of-the-blue decision puts his handlers in a panic as they scramble to make sense of his actions. Ron is forced to set aside his own family plans and join Jay and his entourage on a plane bound for Paris. There he plans on surprising his youngest daughter Daisy (Grace Edwards), who’s traveling abroad with friends. Afterwards he plans on hopping a train for Tuscany where he’s to accept a career achievement award that he had previously declined.

Ron’s main job is to coddle his star client while convincing him not to quit his next movie. But the blasé Jay is more interested in mingling with adoring fans and tracking down Daisy, who would rather be with her traveling companions. It all frustrates Jay’s handlers, especially his volatile publicist Liz (Laura Dern). But amid the chaos, we begin to see the real reason for Jay’s inward sabbatical. He begins reflecting on his life, from his career successes to his failings as a father.

In his melancholy, Jay begins weighing his past choices which forces him to reckon with their consequences, mostly involving his two daughters. While he at least has some connection with the younger Daisy, his relationship with his oldest daughter Jessica (Riley Keough) has soured. The fallout from prioritizing himself and his career has left a divide that she’s not ready to bridge. Keough only gets a couple of scenes, but she provides the story’s most heart-wrenching moments.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Baumbach also gives time to Jay’s relationship with Ron which plays a key role in the star’s journey. Clooney and Sandler have terrific chemistry and consistently find humanity and humor in the scenes they share. Clooney slides right into Jay’s skin, at times so convincingly that you could interpret it as him playing a version of himself. Meanwhile Sandler gives one of the best supporting performances of the year and one of the best performances of his career. In many ways he’s the beating heart of the story, embodying the many things Jay has lost sight of in the name of success.

Early on, Jay makes the revealing statement, “All my memories are movies.” Could it mean that he has invested so much of his life to movies that it’s hard to find a memory that’s not in front of a camera? Or does he mean he has no memories of his own; that his memories are movies – scripted, directed, and produced for others to relish? Both can be true, and both add to Jay’s overwhelming feeling of regret.

Baumbach’s soulful script (which he co-wrote with Emily Mortimer) has us accompany Jay Kelly on a painful personal journey of self-reflection. But to Baumbach and Mortimer’s credit, they don’t turn it into a clean-cut redemption story. While they do find empathy for Jay, there’s no tidy reprieve from the personal consequences or the collateral damage he has left behind. Together with its rich, nuanced performances, lush cinematography, and Baumbach’s vibrant direction, “Jay Kelly” resonates as both a contemplative character study and a meaningful cautionary tale.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Roofman” (2025)

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14

“Roofman” is based on the real-life story of Jeffrey Manchester, a former U.S. Army Reserve officer turned small-time robber. Manchester committed as many as 60 robberies, mostly McDonald’s restaurants. He was finally caught in North Carolina and sentenced to 45 years in prison. But he would eventually escape, making his way to Charlotte where he secretly lived inside of a Toys “R” Us store. He hid there for months, unknown by the employees, living on baby food and candy.

Manchester’s story seems too ridiculous to be true making it prime material for a big screen adaptation. “Roofman” is directed by Derek Cianfrance who works from a script he co-wrote with Kirt Gunn. Channing Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester who we first meet as he’s successfully robbing a local McDonald’s. While in the service, Jeffrey was a unique soldier known for catching details, recognizing systems, and memorizing routines. Those particular set of skills have made him a successful robber but they haven’t helped him at home.

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Jeffrey is crazy about his young daughter Becky (Alissa Marie Pearson). But his ex-wife Talana (Melonie Diaz) has grown tired of his flaky antics. And that only gets worse after he’s finally apprehended and sent to prison. Missing his daughter, Jeffrey uses the very same skills that made him a good thief to escape. While on the run, he finds the most peculiar hiding spot – inside of a Toys “R” Us store where he stays hid during the day and rummages during the night.

But the story’s wackiest turn comes when Jeffrey falls for Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst), a single mother who works at the store. Despite being all over the television, Jeffrey tracks Leigh to her church’s toy drive where he pretends to be new in town, brought there by his top-secret government job. He begins attending services, and even goes to a singles social where he charms the church ladies and eventually Leigh. Before long the two are going on walks in the park and hanging out with her teen daughters, the proudly geeky Dee (Kennedy Moyer) and the angsty older Lindsay (Lily Collias).

Some of the film’s silly additions make the already crazy real-life account even crazier, and not necessarily in a good way. Whether it’s lazier stuff like Tatum running around Toys “R” Us naked or the dumbing down of characters to make Jeffrey’s ruse work. Also, this is one of those predictable stories where you know everything is going to blow up in Jeffrey’s face. There’s simply no scenario where he can settle down with his old life or his potentially new one.

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Still “Roofman” remains watchable thanks to a cast who all seem to be having a lot of fun. This isn’t the first time Tatum has played an endearing dunderhead so he knows what he’s doing. Peter Dinklage gets some moments playing the bully Toys “R” Us manager, Mitch. Notorious screen villain Ben Mendelsohn has a blast going against type as Leigh’s pastor. LaKeith Stanfield gets a handful of good lines as Jeffrey’s cranky friend and former squad mate. And best of the bunch is Kirsten Dunst, an actress who is infinitely better than the material she’s working with.

“Roofman” certainly has its moments of fun, and Cianfrance mines some pretty good emotion and the occasional big laugh out of a wonky story. But the movie often feels tonally confused. And the writers seem more interested in telling a sanitary good guy tale than considering Lancaster’s crimes and what drove him to continue committing them. It leaves you with the feeling that there is a much better version of this gonzo true story still waiting to be told.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Nuremberg” (2025)

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8

Writer-director James Vanderbilt’s riveting “Nuremberg” chronicles key events surrounding one of the biggest trials in world history. The Nuremberg Trials were a joint Allied effort to prosecute captured Nazi leaders following the death of Adolf Hitler and the fall of the Third Reich. The purpose of the trial was not only to convict the Nazi High Command, but to also present irrefutable evidence of Nazi atrocities to the world while discouraging the defeated Germans from following the same path they did after World War I.

The highest ranking Nazi put on trial at Nuremberg was the Führer’s second in command, Hermann Göring. Highly intelligent, fiercely loyal, and grossly narcissistic, Göring expanded his role as the Supreme Commander of the German Air Force to become one of Hitler’s most trusted officers. His arrogance and cunning were on display at Nuremberg, with both working for him and then later against him.

Inspired by the 2013 nonfiction book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai, Vanderbilt’s “Nuremberg” focuses more on the buildup to the first trial than the a trial itself. It’s an effective approach that gives us clearer insight into how the prosecution’s case was built. It also allows us into the head of Hermann Göring, as seen through the commanding performance of Russell Crowe, who deserves nothing less than an Oscar nomination for his astonishing portrayal.

Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classic

Set mostly in 1945 and 1946, “Nuremberg” begins in Austria with Hermann Göring surrendering to American troops. He’s taken to the Grand Hotel Mondorf in Luxembourg which has been turned into a secret prison to house Nazi war criminals. Meanwhile the Allies are struggling to find the best way to hold their prisoners accountable for their crimes. After much deliberation and internal wrangling, they decide on an international tribunal to take place at the reconstructed Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany.

The steadfast yet slightly insecure Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon) is sent to Nuremberg to represent the United States on the prosecution team. He’s joined by the savvy and straightforward British prosecutor David Maxwell Fyfe (Richard E. Grant). As they are working through logistics problems, lack of precedent, and untested case law, U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) is summoned for a specifically challenging task. He is to evaluate Göring and his fellow Nazi prisoners until they face justice in front of the entire world.

Much of the movie is centered on the numerous meetings between Kelley and Göring. Kelley’s plan is to earn Göring’s trust and to exploit his overconfidence. By doing so, not only would he be gaining insight for his superiors, but he could also collect data for a honey of a book deal once the trials are done. But what he doesn’t expect is for the calculating Göring to be playing his own game, turning on the charm and using Kelley’s empathy to his advantage. It’s a mesmerizing psychological chess match energized by two stellar performances. Crowe is especially good, luring us in just as he does Kelley.

Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

A strong and sturdy supporting cast reinforces the already powerful script. In addition to Shannon and Grant, Leo Woodall gets the film’s most memorable monologue playing Sgt. Howie Triest (Leo Woodall), a young American translator with a sobering connection to Germany. John Slattery is appropriately leathery as Colonel Burton C. Andrus, the commandant of the Nuremberg Prison. And Lotte Verbeek pulls some unexpected humanity from Göring’s wife Emmy.

The trial itself plays out in a stunning recreation of the palace courtroom. By putting the time and effort into building up to the moment, the trial sequence packs a surprising emotional punch. The anticipation in the opening shots, the discomfort that fills the room once Göring and his fellow Nazis are ushered in, the tension in every question and answer – it all keeps you glued to the screen. But the most sobering moments come with the inclusion of the film footage from inside the concentration camps. It’s the same footage shown during the real trial and it will leave you speechless.

“Nuremberg” ends with a powerful quote from R.G. Collingwood, “The only clue to what man can do is what man has done.” Those words echo well after the film’s final credits have ran. Yet even before that, Vanderbilt keeps that central thought in the forefront of our minds throughout his enthralling drama. Not only does “Nuremberg” offer a powerful historical account, but it has an incisive current-day relevance that makes it even more potent. Perhaps it could have gone deeper. But it’s perspective is crystal clear, and its conveyed with sincerity and urgency.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Die My Love” (2025)

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Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson are a couple trapped in a doomed relationship in director Lynne Ramsay’s grueling new feature, “Die My Love”. This is her first film since 2017’s much different but equally grim “You Were Never Really Here”. Though based on a 2012 Ariana Harwicz novel, Ramsay’s adaptation says nearly everything it has to say within the first half-hour. The remaining 90 minutes plays like misery porn as we watch a woefully unhappy woman barreling towards destruction.

“Die My Love” is written by the trio of Ramsay, Enda Walsh, and Alice Birch. Their story pitilessly blends motherhood and madness in a way that is surprisingly cold and unforgiving towards the lead characters, the lead cast, and the audience. It toys with such themes as postnatal depression and isolation. But Ramsay’s smothering approach spends more time breaking down and laying bare Lawrence’s character (as much physically as psychologically) than doing much meaningful with the themes that are introduced.

Image Courtesy of Mubi

The film opens by introducing us to an unstable young couple, Grace (Lawrence) and Jackson (Pattinson). The two have moved away from the hustle and bustle of the big city to an old house in rural Montana that Jackson inherited from his late uncle. The couple settles into their new home, and following a rather ludicrous sex montage, they have a baby boy. From there to the final frame, the movie follows the slow disintegration of their ill-fated relationship.

Both Grace and Jackson are dissolute and self-destructive, to such a degree that we know things aren’t going to end well. But while Jackson has his own set of issues, it’s Grace who finds herself in the center of Ramsay’s sights. She’s a stalled writer who loses all inspiration and motivation after becoming a stay-at-home mother. She gets little support from Jackson who is off working for days at a time. And when he is home, his insensitivity (which seems to spring from nowhere) only pushes her closer to the edge.

But none of this is especially surprising considering Grace and Jackson never really feel like a true-to-life couple. They never have real-world conversations and so many of their interactions appear staged for the camera. Brief supporting work from Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte does more to ground Grace and Jackson than anything they do together. It’s a critical issue that leaves us with two shallow and intemperate hipsters rather than an organic couple with actual depth and complexities.

It ends up being all about Grace and her downward spiral. Her behavior gets increasingly bizarre, soon resembling full-on psychosis more than postpartum depression. Lawrence fully commits, crawling around on all fours, rabidly barking at Jackson’s annoying dog, furiously clawing away at wallpaper until her fingers bleed, throwing herself through a glass door, and randomly taking off her clothes whenever Ramsay asks. It’s the kind of performance awards voters often fall for, yet here it feels so hollow.

Image Courtesy of Mubi

Unlike Ramsay’s previous films, “Die My Love” is full of empty provocations that are more interested in shocking the audience than challenging us with substance. When not assaulting us with weird needle-drops and stylistic flourishes, Ramsay is sprinkling gasoline on the fire that is Grace’s sanity. And for what purpose? The movie has already played its hand by the 20-minute mark. Even later, when we’re led to believe Grace is “better”, we can easily see through her sudden turn towards domesticity.

“Die My Love” ends up being a maddening experience. It’s essentially the equivalent of lighting a fuse and waiting two hours for your main character to finally blow. It’s just pointless misery with rarely a reprieve. Ramsay is a talented filmmaker who is no stranger to working with dark and unsettling material. But with “Die My Love”, she seems too focused on her own abrasive formalism and with pushing her acclaimed lead actress to ridiculous lengths.

VERDICT – 2 STARS