One Battle After Another (R) - 3 1/2 Stars - September 26, 2025 THEATERS

Paul Thomas Anderson - director of One Battle After Another - already has my attention.  I'm a fan of his movies, including The Master, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, and many others---I even like his box office flops.  One Battle After Another begins in our revolutionary past - the 70s - in which Leonardo DiCaprio, full of piss and vinegar, does whatever's necessary including explosions, car crashes, fires, and betrayal.  The betrayal comes from DiCaprio's wife, who cozies up to a military zealot played by Sean Penn.  When his revolution runs out of gas, DiCaprio settles into quiet parenthood with the daughter he knows might not exactly be his. Ironically the revolution and vengeance centers on immigration and race.  Beyond that, I can only add a young actress appropriately named Chase Infiniti holds her own, while DiCaprio and Sean Penn battle to steal this show.  The twists and turns of this plot and the chase and resolution will make your head spin.  I imagine the critical appraisal will label One Battle After Another the film of the year.  I might add some of you might come out thinking "What the Hell was that?"  I felt assaulted at first, then entertained, and finally fascinated.  Can't say that about too much these days.  

Movie Guide

The Life of Chuck - 4 Stars - THEATERS - June 3, 2025 - Three scenes in a man's life - based on a Stephen King short story. Life as a mystery full of wonder.   

My Mom Jayne - 4 Stars - MAX - June 27, 2025 - Mariska Hargitay documents the life of the mother she never knew, 1960s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield.  Hargitay shares her very personal discoveries in this fascinating brave film.   

The Pitt - 4 Stars - MAX - January 9, 2025 - One of the great medical series ever, Noah Wyle as head of emergency medicine in a struggling Pittsburgh hospital.  The Pitt far surpasses Wyle's work in ER.  This one's the real deal. 

Adolescence - 4 Stars - NETFLIX - March 13, 2025.  13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a schoolmate.  Stephen Graham heads the family that tries to understand.  TV doesn't get much more powerful.  

Becoming Katherine Graham - 4 Stars - Prime - February 27, 2025 - Fascinating true story of Kay Graham's journey from dutiful wife to Journalism giant. 

Sinners - 4 Stars - MAX - April 8, 2025 - Brilliant mix of genres surrounding the story of a blues legend.  Vampires are involved.  Ryan Coogler directs, Michael B. Jordan stars as twins.  

A Little Prayer - 4 Stars - THEATERS - August 29, 2025 - Quiet North Carolina family drama from the writer of Junebug.   thoughtful 

One Battle After Another - 3 1/2 Stars - THEATERS - Paul Thomas Anderson creates a dazzling chase drama of revolution a generation later.  Outstanding roles for Leo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Chase Infiniti.   A 2025 Oscar contender.  

 

Pee-wee as Himself - 3 1/2 Stars - MAX - May 23, 2025 - Paul Reubens on the effect of the character he created who overshadowed him, as well as the accusations that came with the creative success of Pee-wee Herman.  

Downton Abbey - The Grand Finale - 3 Stars - THEATERS - September 12, 2025 - the familiar characters return except for Maggie Smith.  Life goes on, divorce becomes acceptable, Noel Coward visits, and a new generation takes over.  Watching this is like taking a warm bath.  

The Thursday Murder Club - 3 Stars - NETFLIX - August 28, 2025 - Cut senior citizens solve a series of murder threatening their posh retirement home.  Great cast includes Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosman, and Ben Kingsley.  

 

Department Q - 3 Stars - NETFLIX - May 29, 2025 - Crackerjack mystery thriller. Hot headed Matthew Goode heads a cold case unit unraveling the mystery of a missing prosecutor.  Great writing and producing keep you guessing.   

Materialists - 3 Stars - THEATERS - June 13, 2025 - Dakota Johnson as a matchmaker - caught between boyfriends.  With Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans - a winning romantic comedy with some depth.  

Eleanor the Great - 2 1/2 Stars - The wonderful June Squibb wanders into the wrong group meeting and passes herself off as a Holocaust survivor, when actually the strong belongs to her late best friend.  Interesting thoughts on grief and aging but resolves incompletely.  

  

Happy Gilmore 2 - 2 1/2 Stars - NETFLIX - July 25, 2025 - Adam Sandler updates his golf comedy with PGA professionals poking fun at themselves as well as the sportswashing LIV tour.  

Riefenstahl - 2 Stars - Documentary on the brilliant Nazi propaganda filmmaker.  She won't admit it.  

The Naked Gun - 2 Stars - THEATERS - August 1, 2025 - Desperately tries to recreate the originals.  i spent more energy trying to laugh instead of the real thing.  

Honey Don't - 1 1/2 Stars - THEATERS - August 22, 2025 - Uneven Film Noir with margaret Qualley.  She's great in a confusing script with a lousey ending. 

The Phoenician Scheme - 1 Star - THEATERS - June 1, 2025. Another Wes Anderson comic story.  His art direction overpowers the story which turns into the same old, same old.   

Riefenstahl - 2 Stars - THEATERS - September 12, 2025 (D.C. Release )

 Some years ago, I watched - mesmerized - The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl.  Released in 1993, the documentary chronicles the life of the filmmaker who caught Hitler's eye.  His support made possible the brilliant films Triumph of the Will and Olympia.  Riefenstahl, then living, insisted she never knew about Hitler's atrocities, even as the film proves her wrong.  In later years she attracted attention for her live in companion, 40 years her junior, as well as her work in underwater photography and with the natives of Africa.  The new documentary Riefenstahl updates her story with materials from Leni's estate, including phone conversations and letters. As in the earlier work, the filmmakers set out to prove Leni a liar, catching her in a recorded phone conversation toward the end of the film.  Considering the Brillance of the earlier work, this new documentary feels pointless.  

Eleanor the Great - 2 1/2 stars - September 26, 2015 - THEATERS

 June Squibb continues to delight audiences as everyone's favorite senior citizen.  I've loved her in Nebraska, and last summer's Thelma among many others.  Eleanor the Great finds Squibb in familiar territory.  Her character Eleanor Morgenstein moves from Florida to her daughter's apartment in Manhattan when her best friend and roommate dies.  As in real life, Eleanor has converted to Judaism. Her best friend, Bessie, born Jewish, survives the Holocaust in Poland, telling her story over the years to her best friend and roommate.  Now in her new life, Eleanor walks into the wrong group meeting, a group of Holocaust survivors.  When prompted to speak, Eleanor tells her friend's story as her own and gains acceptance.  The tension of that lie increases with a young journalism student, grieving her mother, attaches to Eleanor writing an article about her.  The lie gets amplified as the young woman's father, a television anchorman, selects Eleanor's story for his broadcast.  Eleanor the Great aims to make a statement about grief and mostly succeeds.  Directed by Scarlett Johansson, the story plays straightforward and moving.  Unfortunately it never resolves the central issue of Eleanor's lie. I like the quick hour and a half running time, but the rushed ending detracts from an otherwise charming story.  

Downton Abbey - The Grand Finale - 3 Stars - THEATERS - September 12, 2025

Is this really the Grand Finale?  The latest Downton Abbey adventure left me waning more.  I wonder what will happen when World War Two begins?  Anyhow, the family matriarch played so well by Maggie Smith has passed on.  Now the next generation led by Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley begins to feel the passage of time.  Same thing downstairs, ushering in a theme of new generations.  Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary shocks the village with her divorce.  Can society change along with her?  The crash, bad investments, a dashing swindler, and Noel Coward all figure into this latest and last? episode.  Really, how much will things change when World War Two begins?  I really feel another chapter coming.  As for this one, it's like taking a warm bath, soothing and familiar.   

The Thursday Murder Club - 3 Stars -August 28, 2025 - NETFLIX

The Thursday Murder Club combines a wonderful collection of actors with the spirit of Murder She Wrote.  Acting greats Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, and Ben Kingsley have obvious fun as a group of retirees solving cold cases.  A real murder takes place in their orbit, threatening their posh life in a beautifully appointed castle.  The rest goes by the book with no heavy lifting.  The result creates nice light viewing any day of the week.