Tag Archives: movies

REVIEW: “Jay Kelly” (2025)

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4

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 STARS

REVIEW: “Roofman” (2025)

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10

“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 Lancaster 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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7

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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11

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

REVIEW: “Regretting You” (2025)

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10

We’re not far from being able to christen Colleen Hoover and the new Nicholas Sparks. Like Sparks, the Texas-born Hoover has made it big as a novelist with a very passionate fanbase. And like Sparks, Hoover’s novels have become a favorite in Hollywood. She’s still a ways away from Sparks’ eleven film adaptations. But Hoover is making up ground quick with a movie last year, one this year, and two scheduled to release in 2026.

“Regretting You” is an adaptation of Hoover’s 2019 novel of the same name. It’s from director Josh Boone who previously helmed the solid romantic drama “The Fault in Our Stars” and the disastrous dead-on-arrival superhero movie “The New Mutants”. Here he works with screenwriter Susan McMartin to try and unpack Hoover’s soapy story. Admittedly I haven’t read the book. But it’s hard to imagine it’s as melodramatically messy as its big screen offspring.

It doesn’t help that the movie is built upon an eye-rolling premise that the mostly capable cast can’t save. They certainly put in the effort, each fully committing to the material no matter how schmaltzy or even strange it gets. But McMartin’s script doesn’t make it easy for them. The story often feels at odds with itself as it ushers its characters through scenes of devastating grief and cheesy teen romance. It’s a tsunami of clashing tones with streaming tears and out-of-tune humor often occupying the same space.

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sisters Morgan (Allison Williams) and Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald) are polar opposites. Since they were kids, Morgan was the stable and reliable one while Jenny was all about having a good time. Their lives took a turn in high school following Morgan’s unexpected pregnancy with her boyfriend Chris (Scott Eastwood). The two end up getting married while Jenny splits with her geeky boyfriend Jonah (Dave Franco) who actually had the hots for Morgan but left town once she and Chris got married. But now Jonah’s back, just long enough to have a baby with Jenny and get engaged. Did you get all that?

While Jonah and Jenny have their newborn, Morgan and Chris have 17-year-old Clara (Mckenna Grace), a bright and sweet senior in high school with big plans to attend drama school. Even more, Clara has a crush on “the coolest guy in school“, Miller Adams (Mason Thames). Miller is a good kid who loves movies while living with and taking care of his ailing grandfather (Clancy Brown). To no surprise the two start to connect in ways that utilize most teen romance tropes.

But movies like this feed on tragedy and it’s no different in “Regretting You”. Morgan and Jonah get the shocking news that Jenny and Chris were killed in a car accident while secretly together. Naturally this prompts some troubling questions while leading to some predictable fallout. As Morgan and Jonah learn some heartbreaking truths, they make a pact not to tell Claire the truth knowing it would devastate her. But that seems like an impossible secret to hide from a 17-year-old, especially for anyone not living off the grid. Nonetheless…

Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

From there the story becomes a swirl of emotional breakdowns, heated arguments, and cutesy puppy love. The actors navigate the tonal chaos the best they can, but their characters are the biggest victims. They’re also hurt by some baffling creative choices. Take the decision to digitally de-age Morgan, Jenny, Chris, and Jonah in a brief prologue and a wonky flashback scene. Not only is the airbrushed effect noticeable, it’s comically distracting.

As for the characters themselves, they’re trapped in a movie where the adults often act like children and the kids like adults. But Clara (who is the centerpiece of the story) has her moments of petulance as well. She also makes some bizarrely rash decisions that don’t do her any favors. Yet Grace overcomes much of it with a mostly charming performance that earns our empathy. Williams finds some good beats in the slightly frustrating Morgan. Fitzgerald is the most in-sync with her character. Eastwood is stuck in a character type while a bespectacled Dave Franco seems miscast and struggles to find chemistry with Williams.

Somewhere inside of “Regretting You” is a thoughtful story about a mother and daughter trying to navigate their grief. The movie is filled with sincerity and good intentions. But the erratic script, uneven characters, and overall wobbly execution keep the story perpetually off-balance. Sadly it doesn’t work as weepy tearjerker or a cheesy YA romance. “Regretting You” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “A House of Dynamite” (2025)

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5

Kathryn Bigelow’s highly anticipated and long awaited next movie has finally arrived via Netflix. It’s “A House of Dynamite” and it’s Bigelow’s first feature film since her 2017 historical crime drama “Detroit”. This is another audacious swing from the Oscar-winning director who delivers a harrowing ‘what-if’ nail-biter that’s infused with a sobering sense of urgency. It’s one of the best films of the year.

“A House of Dynamite” is a riveting thriller that can also serve as a pressing wake-up call to the ever-present danger of living in this new nuclear age. Written for the screen by Noah Oppenheim, the story plays like a hardcore military/political procedural laced with 1990s thriller vibes. But it’s Bigelow’s striking efficiency and razor-sharp precision that makes the movie’s engine hum. She maintains such control of the story’s many moving parts while keeping her audience firmly in her grip for the duration.

Bigelow is helped by a star-studded ensemble who fill out this three-pronged story. The narrative structure follows one significant event but tells it from three distinct yet interconnected perspectives. It begins at the 49th Missile Defense Battalion at Fort Greely, Alaska. Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) and his unit pickup an unidentified ballistic missile in the air. At first they believe it’s a test. But by failing to detect the launch’s point of origin, they don’t know for sure.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

Fort Greely informs the White House situation room in Washington DC where Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) and her team monitor potential threats to the country. Experts soon inform Walker that the missile is not a test and is only 19 minutes away from striking the continental United States. Multiple agencies spring into action, making efforts to intercept the missile while narrowing down its impact zone. As the clock counts down, fear and anxiety sets in.

We then hop back in time to when the missile was first detected but shift our focus to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska where General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) leads the US Strategic Command and Control. Brady’s team is able to determine the missile’s target to be Chicago and its 9.2 million people. With a nuclear attack seeming imminent, Brady pushes for the President to immediately consider a counter attack. But Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso) disagrees, insisting they get more information before thrusting the world into a nuclear war.

The movie transports us back once more, this time focusing on the President of the United States (played by an impressively grounded Idris Elba). We follow him as he gets word about the inbound missile and works under immense pressure to decide the best course of action. Does he follow Brady’s recommendation and counterattack before their window closes? Or does he listen to Baerington and wait, despite the dangers of doing so?

Image Courtesy of Netflix

The cast is full of other supporting players who have their own roles in the story. Jason Clarke plays the senior Situation Room officer and Walker’s boss. Greta Lee plays an intelligence agent with the NSA. Moses Ingram plays a FEMA official. Jared Harris plays the Secretary of Defense. Renée Elise Goldsberry plays the First Lady. Jonah Hauer-King plays the President’s retaliatory adviser. These are just some of the characters serving as key pieces in the story, who either provide vital information that moves the plot forward or add needed humanity to the chaos.

“A House of Dynamite” wastes no time lighting its fuse and it steadily burns right up to the film’s gutsy finish. It’s a near certainty that some viewers will be upset with where Bigelow pulls the plug. But I can’t imagine a more effective ending for the kind of impression she wants to leave. The palpable fear, the unnerving uncertainty, the sobering real-world relevance – it all hits like a hammer in the film’s final shots which Bigelow lands just as intended.

With “A House of Dynamite” Bigelow reminds us of how close we are to annihilation and how helpless we would be once those dominoes started to fall. At the same time, her film maintains its human pulse, never losing sight of the personal stakes for many of the people involved. The changes in viewpoints work surprisingly well within the ticking clock formula in large part thanks to Bigelow’s laser-focused execution. The urgency is emphasized in Barry Ackroyd’s documentary-style cinematography while the tone resonates through the ominous groan of Volker Bertelmann’s score. It all creates a tension-fueled movie that offers a prescient warning for our current day. “A House of Dynamite” premieres October 24th on Netflix.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS