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crowd vs. critic single take // HAMLET (1948)

Note: This is a modified version of a review originally written for ZekeFilm. Photo credits: IMDb.com.

Where does the grief end and the madness begin? In Laurence Olivier’s vision of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works, who can say?

Prince Hamlet of Denmark (Olivier) sees the ghost of his father, who tells him he was murdered by his brother, the new king Claudius (Basil Sydney). Within weeks of the funeral, Claudius has also claimed the hand of his brother’s widow, Queen Gertrude (Eileen Herlie). Hamlet attempts to hide his investigation of his uncle with behavior resembling insanity, which others chalk up to his passion for Ophelia (Jean Simmons). But with each passing day, his performance becomes more convincing to others and to himself, leaving a wake of death behind him.

CROWD // I must confess: I’m not a huge Shakespeare girlie. Though I’ll never question his way with words—“To be or not to be” is just the start of Hamlet‘s bangers—I struggle with the Bard’s plotting. It’s not totally inaccurate to sum up Hamlet as, “They watch a play, hide behind curtains, then die.” Many of his tragedies would be avoidable if everyone checked their mail, listened to the soothsayer, asked their wife what happened to her handkerchief, and didn’t eavesdrop behind that curtain. But Hamlet is having a(nother) moment four centuries after its first performance: Taylor Swift reigned for weeks on the Billboard charts with “The Fate of Ophelia,” Riz Ahmed just starred in a modern retelling in April, and—most relevant to this Best Picture Project—Hamnet competed in eight categories at the Oscars in March, leading to Jessie Buckley’s first Oscar win (in one of my new all-time favorite Oscars looks). I’ve run out of excuses not to check out the Oscars’ first major love affair with Shakespeare.

Even if you read Hamlet in high school (check!) and you wore out your VHS copy of The Lion King as a kid (check, check!!), it will never not be something you want to watch with the Wikipedia article open—and not just because Olivier made enough changes to the text he felt the need to explain it in The New York Times. It will also never not be a downer. Between the insanity, the murder, the suicide, and Olivier’s choice to lean into Oedipal overtones, this version of the story has plenty to leave you lachrymose. Olivier insistence “that Hamlet took a stand on the fact that some of the finer shades of the play…would pass over the heads of greater and less instructed masses, who would be bored and demand a swifter action in the plot” may be snobbish, but it’s not an opinion without any basis. For a more fun night at the movies, he might have taken that logic even further.

POPCORN POTENTIAL: 5/10

CRITIC // Director/star Olivier did follow through on another of his aims: “Cinema is even more insistent on the visual aspect of art than the theatre, that the camera can, and must, nose into corners and magnify details that escape notice or pass muster on the stage.“ When he began his film with a non-Shakespearean thesis—“This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind”—he made it clear this ain’t your great-great-great-great grandfather’s prince of Denmark. This smoky adaptation more resembles an M.C. Escher mind bender than a play, taking place outside of time and inside Hamlet’s cloudy vision and imagination. Brutalist sets and costumes adorned with off-kilter belts keep this Danish court feeling cold and unreliable, even spooky at times. With these hazy hallways, hilly graveyards, and winding rivers, it’s a wonder the characters don’t descend into madness and murder sooner.

The whole cast is capital-A Acting, but it never feels like a filmed stage production, still a frequent problem for stage-to-screen adaptations. I recently checked out the 1936 Romeo and Juliet, a Best Picture nominee. Though plenty of craft was on display in the costumes, sets, and choreography, the performers still felt like they were projecting for the back of the Globe Theatre. Olivier’s Hamlet feels like a film first, roving the camera around the stylized (and Oscar-winning) sets, sometimes even from the perspective of the king’s ghost. (Thank goodness Joel Coen took inspiration from this Best Picture winner for The Tragedy of Macbeth instead of most other Shakespeare adaptations.) Almost 80 years since its four Oscar wins, this take on Hamlet still feels innovative.

ARTISTIC TASTE: 9/10

#Best Picture Project #Academy Awards #Oscars #1948 #Hamlet #Laurence Olivier #William Shakespeare #Jean Simmons #Best Picture #Single Take #Crowd #Critic #Eileen Herlie #Basil Sydney #5/10 #9/10 #Hamlet 1948 review

crowd vs. critic single take // GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT (1947)

Photo credits: IMDb.com

It’s 1947, and the largest war on anti-Semitism has been waged and won by the good guys. Though some of the human heart’s darkest crevices have been exposed, so has its potential for heroism. And for the first time in history, an international court convened in Nuremberg held key perpetrators of Jewish genocide responsible. Still, something does not seem right.

Recently widowed journalist Philip Schuyler Green (Gregory Peck) is assigned a piece for a national newsmagazine about anti-Semitism, but he can’t find an angle beyond listing out facts and figures. Then he gets an idea: What if he pretends to be Jewish? Because he’s just moved to New York, he can hide his Gentile roots from his new friends and co-workers to see how they respond to his supposed heritage. He isn’t surprised when he starts running into prejudice, but he’s surprised to learn how much of it comes from people who would say they’re on the side of tolerance.

CROWD // If you’re like me, your first response to the plot summary of Gentleman’s Agreement is, “Well, that’s a movie that wouldn’t be made today.” Let me alleviate some of your anxiety—this Best Picture winner is based on a novel by Jewish author Laura Z. Hobson, who was inspired by a real-life incident. When a Congressman used a slur in the House of Representatives and no one condemned him for it, she identified a quodlibet for exploration.

Almost 80 years ago, Hobson’s novel was so popular bookstores couldn’t keep it on their shelves. As The Atlantic examined “The End of Reading” this month, it’s difficult to imagine this subject matter igniting bestseller lists today, but that doesn’t mean this feels stale. If anything, I’m surprised this movie doesn’t have a bigger footprint given how much it still resonates. In the last decade, the term “microagression” has turned vernacular, and microaggressions are the main pain points Philip notices in his investigation. Even though she pitched the article, his girlfriend Kathy (Dorothy McGuire) takes every opportunity to clarify Philip isn’t actually Jewish. He’s denied a room at a hotel, party guests cancel when they hear he’s attending, and options for his mother’s (Anne Revere) medical care narrow. In some ways, these recurring frustrations are more challenging than the unethical hiring practices he uncovers at his magazine—company policy can be changed with a typewriter, but people’s attitudes can’t.

Gentleman’s Agreement is also still watchable thanks to the gravitational pull of Gregory Peck, who is performing a dress rehearsal for Atticus Finch. He’s knows how to play a white hat hero, and though his battle is less violent than in To Kill a Mockingbird, he’s still worth rooting for. Even when dependent on nuance, a good-versus-evil, David-and-Goliath story is universal.

POPCORN POTENTIAL: 7/10

CRITIC // I’m going to add a “but” to my last statement. A story structure may be universal, but that doesn’t mean it can’t convict the audience, too.

This Best Picture winner is uncomfortable. It identifies a naïveté in people like Philip, whose optimism blinds him to the hardships of a close friend. The film zeroes in on people like Kathy, who develop aphasia when someone else makes an inappropriate comment. And then there are people like Philip’s secretary, Elaine (June Havoc), who doesn’t just hide her Jewish heritage to protect her career—she’s embarrassed by it herself. Gentleman’s Agreement isn’t interested in critiquing unapologetic racists but people who are well-meaning, fearful, and self-loathing. Philip may be a white hat hero, but he’s not facing off with black hat villains.

Hobson likely knew when writing that the unapologetic crowd wouldn’t take time to engage with her work, but that the people who would had opposed the flagrant racism of the Third Reich just a few years earlier. Her key question is for the latter group: What are you really doing to support what you say you believe in? Decades later, this is a question still worth asking, and (for many of us) it’s one uncomfortable to answer.

ARTISTIC TASTE: 9/10

#Gentleman's Agreement #1947 #Best Picture Project #Best Picture #Academy Awards #Oscars #Crowd #Critic #Gregory Peck #Dorothy McGuire #Single Take #9/10 #7/0 #Anne Revere #June Havoc #Gentleman's Agreement Review

round up // JUNE 26

School’s out for summer, but like an S Club Party, the pop culture party (and accompanying analysis, criticism, and recommendations) don’t stop. (If that ain’t the party that you think ain’t no party, The Atlantic can help you find one adorned with fewer bandanas and pedal pushers.)

At the mid-point of the year, the uptick in quality in new releases is tangible. New films from several of my favorite directors are out, we’ve got a new album from one of my pop queens, and three different summer reading programs are pushing me to make a major dent in my TBR pile. (And TBH, that “pile” is more accurately described as a dedicated “cabinet.”) Summer is also for traveling, which means discovering new museums, cramming in as many movies as possible on your flight, and binge reading in the backseat of a road trip.

So yes, June was busy, but just like a Liz Lemon party, the pop culture picks don’t stop because the Round Up is mandatory…

JUNE CROWD-PLEASERS

1. Power Ballad (2026)

A John Carney musical starring Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd? It’s possible this movie was made in a lab for me. Like all Carney flicks, the script is a little shaggy, but something about that makes it feel scrappy, not sloppy. (And it doesn’t feel like they shot the first draft of a treatment like 2023’s Flora and Son did.) This is for my fellow Begin Again homies, and “How to Write a Song Without You” is even catchier than any of the songs on that (for me, beloved) soundtrack. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

2. Disclosure Day (2026)

One of the loveliest things about discussing Spielberg is you can’t overstate his impact or his prowess, and one of the loveliest things about Disclosure Day is Spielberg is still at the height of his powers as a storyteller, thrill maker, and idea man. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. Abbott Elementary (2021-)

For years, this has been my go-to show when I have only 20 minutes left of a Southwest flight. Good news: It holds up start to finish! While it borrows a lot from The Office and Parks and Recreation (Jeanine is an inexperienced Leslie Knope; Ava combines Michael’s incompetence as a boss with Tom Haverford’s luxury taste; Mr. Johnson lives the legendary lives of Creed Bratton and Donna Meagle), it doesn't rehash too much since schools are an underused setting for workplace comedies. (The premise also means the discussion of cultural and political issues never feels forced.) Every cast member is funny, but special props go to Sheryl Lee Ralph’s original sitcom creation, Chris Perfetti’s relatable (and hilarious) insecurity, and William Stanford Davis for making Mr. Johnson the GOAT.

4. You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love by Olivia Rodrigo (2026)

The ‘80s vibes are strong with this queen! Olivia Rodrigo's blatantly-influenced-by-The-Cure album is another best-album-yet for her. While she continues to explore body insecurity and failed romances, the dives into self-destructive and co-dependent tendencies is new territory. “Drop Dead” is my current contender for Song of the Summer.

5. Toy Story 5 (2026)

I am very happy to report there are no bad Toy Story movies. Read why this is a step forward for the franchise in my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 9/10

MORE JUNE CROWD-PLEASERS // I’m never mad when I’m watching Jason Stratham kick tail in formulaic movies like Shelter (2026) // I couldn’t put down the rock n’ roll character study The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead (2026) // Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) doesn’t have all the charm of the first movie, but it’s still a not-cringey family comedy // I can’t explain the plot mechanics of The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young (2023) back to you, but I needed to know the ending ASAP // Anaconda (2025) is exactly the dumb kind of movie I love

JUNE CRITIC PICKS

1. Discontent by Beatriz Serrano (2025)

It’s possible no piece of pop culture or media has captured so accurately the daily existential crisis of working in marketing. Our narrator, Marisa, verges on a mental breakdown as she struggles to find any motivation to work on the ad campaigns she’s assigned to, and it’s not hard to see why as she reveals more about her co-workers and her clients. But like every marketer I know, she approaches this dread with a dry humor to make it manageable.

2. Hotel Berlin (1945)

At the tail end of World War II, a hodgepodge of characters—both Axis and Allied—converge in a once-luxury hotel, resulting in espionage, escapes, and an examination of morality when the chips are down. The definition of a hidden gem! Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

3. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

This woodland Bentonville museum founded by Alice Walton calls itself America’s Art Museum, and with works from Mary Cassatt, Thomas Cole, Georgia O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, and Andy Warhol—not to mention Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington—it has some cred to back up that bold claim. If every billionaire family were spending their money to create experiences like this, the world would be a better place!

4. Reality Bites (1994)

The angst of the early ‘20s? The competition between integrity and survival? A highly dysfunctional love triangle? This movie was made for gals who have co-hosted a Gilmore Girls podcast like me and for all those who believe Winona is queen. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

5. The Last Hurrah (1958)

ZekeFilm writers took on John Ford in our June Film Admissions, and The Last Hurrah might be my favorite Ford drama yet. Here’s why.

MORE JUNE CRITIC PICKS // Helen of Troy (1956) is good prep for this summer’s The Odyssey // I Built You a Tower by Death Cab for Cutie (2026) is the perfect summer rainy day soundtrack // I didn’t know I wanted Errol Flynn to be a Canadian Mountie, but Northern Pursuit (1943) was on to something // The Blue Dahlia (1946) is a deep cut film noir worth discovering // The Crucible by Arthur Miller (1953) is as relevant as ever in our politically turbulent times // The Spiral Staircase (1946) stars another ‘40s dame in a Gothic nightmare

ALSO IN JUNE…

I wrote a guest post for Do You Like Apples about a memorable evening featuring a movie and a meal. I highly recommend pairing Titanic with sticky toffee pudding and a BFF!

Not every movie I had hopes for in June was a winner. On KMOV, I talked about how The Death of Robin Hood didn’t engage meaningfully with the the legend it’s based on and how Supergirl got stuck in CGI space slop.

Photo credits: Discontent, Crystal Bridges. All others IMDb.com.

#Round Up #Disclosure Day #Power Ballad #Abbott Elementary #You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love #Olivia Rodrigo #Toy Story 5 #The Last Hurrah #Hotel Berlin #Discontent by Beatriz Serrano #Beatriz Serrano #Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art #Reality Bites

round up // MAY 26

Most of the entertainment world spent May discussing the stellar box office improvement year over year, but I’m here to focus on an even bigger story. Yes, I am referring to my taking over Friday evening movie reviewing on KMOV.

While I’m bummed to see my colleague Joshua Ray leave St. Louis, it’s hard to be too sad when A) he’s literally living the dream by moving to France, and B) I get to do more of something I look forward to every time it’s on my calendar. Crunching down the big ideas and reactions from a film into three minutes (or less) is a muscle my writer’s brain doesn’t find natural, but in many ways, it’s more fun. Art invites conversation, and though it’s brief, I welcome the two-way discussion the TV format allows. I’ll continue to link to reviews here in case live linear TV isn’t your thing, and then be sure to tell me your thoughts on what I’m reviewing the next time you see me.

MAY CROWD-PLEASERS

1. The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

Selling out is survival. That was my takeaway from this legacy media legacy sequel, and like the original Devil Wears Prada, that’s a surprisingly untidy resolution to a popcorn movie. All the razzle dazzle you hoped for has remained—The fashion! The Gaga!—and any movie that makes good use of Streep, Hathaway, Tucci, and Blunt in the same room is a net positive for the world. Here’s more about it in my review for KMOV. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Movie Review Friday: Anne Hathaway Weekend Double Feature

2. Is God Is (2026)

Maybe it’s because I went in with low expectations for a Kill Bill ripoff, but Aleshea Harris’s first feature is filled with confidence and style announcing a new voice to follow in cinema. Here’s more in my review for KMOV. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

Movie Review Friday: "Is God Is" and "Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)"

3. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026)

I’m still waiting for another high like The Last Jedi, but is this the first cozy adventure in a galaxy far, far away? Read my review for ZekeFilm or watch my review on KMOV. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

4. Police Story (1985)

The writers at ZekeFilm dug into Mandarin and Cantonese cinema in May, and Jackie Chan’s action-packed rogue cop adventure/physical comedy joyride is as fun as the ‘80s could be. Read more at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

5. Saturday Night Live Round Up

Matt Damon, Will Ferrell, and Paul McCartney are about as great a wrap-up to a season of SNL as you’d hope. And Jane Wickline’s take on lateness? That was immediately shared to acknowledge my inevitable lateness to brunch the following week.

“Godzilla Movie” (5119 with Matt Damon)

“Mom Movie Trailer” (5119)

“Substitute Teacher’s Goodbye” (5119)

“Weekend Update: Jane Wickline on Being Chronically Late” (5119)

“Auctioneers” (5119)

“Monologue” (5120 with Will Ferrell)

“Weekend Update: Mr. On Blast Speaks His Mind Again Without Holding Back” (5120)

“Paul McCartney: Drive My Car” (5120)

“Paul McCartney: Help!” (5120)

MORE MAY CROWD-PLEASERS // Pop Culture Jeopardy! (2024-): What is extremely embarrassing to miss a question on, Colin? // Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser (2026) is a better-written fractured fairy tale than it needed to be // I can’t believe how much I identified with the elderly main character at the heart of Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer (2026)

MAY CRITIC PICKS

1. Seven Days in May (1964)

I keep gravitating toward films about political and global disaster—I’m choosing to believe it’s helping me work through some anxiety instead of creating it. In this installment of my cinematic therapy, a general (Burt Lancaster) schemes to take down a president (Fredric March) trying to make peace with the Soviet Union, and Kirk Douglas is the colonel caught in the middle. Both thrilling and thoughtful. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

2. Tuner (2026)

In one of the best movies of the year so far (and one very much made with fans of Baby Driver in mind), a piano tuner with hyperacusis (Leo Woodall) discovers a talent for safecracking. If that’s not a perfect film premise, I don’t know what is. Here’s more in my review for KMOV. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

Movie Review Friday: "Pressure" and "Tuner"

3. Blow Out (1981)

Did an audio editor for sleazy pictures (John Travolta) hear a murder? Or did he just witness a terrible accident? Brian De Palma’s conspiracy thriller never lets the tension slack, and John Lithgow has never been more terrifying. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

4. TCM’s Talking Pictures Podcast (2024-)

Have you ever wondered what the first movie Mel Brooks saw in theaters was? How did Nancy Meyers’ parents impact her career? Why did Patty Jenkins take so much time between her feature films? Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz hosts a podcast filled with the kinds of conversations I dream of having with my favorite creatives.

5. The Boys of Dungeon Lane by Paul McCartney (2026)

There was no way you didn’t think this would be on my list. The GOAT is still making music worth of his reputation with rock riffs like “As You Lie There,” musings on his younger days like “Down South,” and bangers like “Ripples in a Pond.”

MORE MAY CRITIC PICKS // Barbara Stanwyck elevates the cliché plot of Baby Face (1933) into a powerhouse character study // The Oscar-worthy music of Once (2007) elevates a very low-budget indie into a memorable musical

ALSO IN MAY + JUNE…

I did not expect Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) to make me cry, and I did not expect The Sheep Detectives (2026) to be so charming. I reviewed the pair of these talking animal movies on KMOV.

Is God Is earned a spot on my Letterboxd list of stylish movies, and Remarkably Bright Creatures inspired another list of weird overlaps.

Photo credits: Talking Pictures, Paul McCartney. All others IMDb.com.

#Round Up #Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu #Star Wars #The Mandalorian and Grogu #Police Story #SNL #Saturday Night Live #The Devil Wears Prada 2 #Is God Is #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #Talking Pictures Podcast #Tuner #Paul McCartney #The Boys of Dungeon Lane #Blow Out #Seven Days in May

round up // MARCH + APRIL 26

Spring has sprung in more ways than one—is it just me, or is pop culture blooming?

The Oscars? A new Harry Styles album? A sitcom from the minds behind 30 Rock? Oh, and the box office is up year-over-year with the help of movies like Hoppers and Project Hail Mary, which are creative victories, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there’s a lot of not great stuff I’m glossing over in the world of entertainment—and the world in general—at the moment, but this blog doesn’t exist to refuel your (or my) anxiety. I recently rewatched The Last Jedi, and I’m trying to practice Rose’s philosophy: “That's how we're gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love.”

Since my Round Ups only focus on new-to-me pop culture, I won’t be singing the praises of the last great Star Wars movie, my return to the political fantasy of The West Wing, or all the gardening I’ve been doing to keep my spirits up in the face of some exhausting news cycles. What I will be recapping/recommending: several tragic romances, a pick from a recent Spielberg deep dive, and lots and lots of things that made me laugh.

March + April Crowd-Pleasers

1. Project Hail Mary (2026)

Aside from inconsistent pacing, there’s only a lot to love in this sci-fi adventure. This is the kind of movie star part Hollywood has thrived on since the beginning, and Gosling reminds us here why the camera has loved him for the more than two decades. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

2. Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. by Harry Styles (2026)

Sadness, insecurity, and self-loathing have always been undercurrents in Harry’s solo music, but they rush to the forefront in a new way in his latest synth-heavy album. Yes, his penchant for silliness and dance-worthy hooks are still integral, but these songs explore loneliness, the fight for sobriety, and desire for meaningful relationships. Dare I say it, there’s a new maturity. With fewer bops than Fine Line or Harry’s House, I’m not sure it will ever rank as my favorite Harry album, but “Aperture” has had me levitating on repeat, “Season 2 Weight Loss” is a vibe, and the melody in “American Girls” lets his voice soar.

3. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (2026)

A time travel hit man comedy with an in-depth discussion of Gilmore Girls? Um, yes please! Watch my review on KMOV. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

Movie Review Friday: "Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice" and "Andre is an Idiot"

4. Saturday Night Live Round Up

From Ryan Gosling’s constant giggling to the many, many cameos, season 51 has been a fun one. These have been my biggest laughs lately:

“Stranger Things Promo” (5110 with Finn Wolfhard) - Spot-on

“Scandinavian Movie 2 ft. Stellan Skarsgård” (5112 with Alexander Skarsgård) - Because SNL cameos are my favorite kind of Oscar campaigning!

“Monologue” (5114 with Ryan Gosling)

“MAHAspital” (5115 with Harry Styles)

“Harry for Him” (5115)

“Five-Timers Monologue” (5116 with Jack Black)

“Kathy” (5116)

“Husbands” (5116)

“Fashion District Robbery” (5117 with Colman Domingo)

“Edge of Destiny” (5118 with Olivia Rodrigo) - Because soap opera spoofs will always make me laugh

I also appreciated this piece from The Hollywood Reporter with some valid criticism about comedy flirting with minimizing political violence.

5. The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (2026-)

I shouted with glee when I saw this mockumentary sitcom had been renewed for a season two. Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe deserve another five hours to develop their chemistry as this odd couple of washed up public figures. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve hit the 10-second rewind just to make sure I caught the nuances of every joke from this hilarious ensemble including Bobby Moynihan and Erika Alexander.

MORE MARCH CROWD-PLEASERS // Hoppers (2026) is feel-good, family-friendy, old school Pixar // The Stomp National Tour reminds us that art can come from anywhere // Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025) is a literal blast // Days of Thunder (1990) walked so F1 could fly // Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) is a sequel we didn’t need but is still pretty fun // Top Secret! (1984) ended a terrible day with much-needed laughs // THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. by Raye (2026) brings me hope pop music can find room for orchestras again

March + April Critic Picks

1. The Phantom of the Opera National Tour

After years of waiting for it to appear in the Fabulous Fox’s main season, my dream finally came true! Better yet, this gothic, operatic romance lived up to its legendary reputation.

2. Double Feature - Historical Romantic Tragedies: Reds (1981) + The Remains of the Day (1993)

I’m not sure what makes us root for two people to get together in spite of their dysfunction, but this double feature is a perfect example of it. In Reds (Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 9/10), Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton war between their political and romantic impulses during the Communist Revolution. In Remains of the Day (7/10 // 9.5/10), Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson debate class and moral structures during World War II. Both may leave you in tears!

3. The 98th Academy Awards

Though not all my predictions worked out (sorry, Stellan Skarsgård!), it was nice that the discourse this year didn't focus on undeserving or overrated winners. Instead we watched an actually good In Memoriam segment (a portion I often wish was cut entirely), only two musical performances (also actually good), a Bridesmaids reunion, a new casting award, and a tie Kumail Nanjiani handled so well that you might forget about that La La Land/Moonlight fiasco a decade ago. And while my heart never wavered from wanting Timothée Chalamet to win Best Actor, finishing the most competitive race in this category in years with an emotional Michael B. Jordan felt like the perfect capper.

4. Double Feature - Goldie Hawn: Cactus Flower (1969) + The Sugarland Express (1974)

When I saw Goldie Hawn on the Oscars red carpet (to support her Best Actress-nominated daughter, natch), I decided it was time to check out the Cactus Flower (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) recording that had been on my DVR for ages. What a hoot! Why did I wait so long to watch rom-com with Hawn, Walter Matthau, and Ingrid Bergman? (And to learn that Bergman could be so laugh-out-loud hilarious?) The other discovery: Hawn’s dramatic chops. Early Spielberg caper The Sugarland Express (8.5/10 // 8.5/10) is a heartbreaker and thriller held together with her performance.

5. I Swear (2025)

I’ve developed a mild allergy to inspirational true stories because so many take the lazy route with their characterization and heavy-handed sappiness. But then there are the ones anchored in performances as good as Robert Aramayo’s. Watch my review for KMOV.

Movie Review Friday: "Michael" and "I Swear"

MORE MARCH CRITIC PICKS // The Defiant Ones (1958) is the most thrilling you can hope a hit-you-over-the-head metaphor to be // Crossing Delancey (1988) is hidden rom-com gem // I can’t believe I didn’t hate Bugonia! (2025) // Malcolm X (1992) is a sprawling epic grounded in a tour de force Denzel Washington performance // I’ve yet to max out on Jane Austen adaptations, so I recommend Persuasion (1995) in addition to all the others I’ve recommended before // Revisionist History’s two-part series “Zootopia Exposed!” is a wild ride you’d never expect behind a Disney behemoth and told only as Malcolm Gladwell could // The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) is the kind of class-conscious Old Hollywood comedy I love // Duel (1971) makes me think this Steven Spielberg guy is going places!

ALSO IN MARCH + APRIL...

Just missing my list of favorite Crowd-Pleasers from this Spring is the new rom-com You, Me & Tuscany (2026). I stopped by KMOV to rave about just how cute this feel-good, Italy-set movie is (and to review a new version of Hamlet.)

Well, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) is out, and I spent used digital ink at ZekeFilm and KMOV airwaves to explain why people over the age of six will be unimpressed.

Well, Michael (2026) is out, and in addition to using digital ink at ZekeFilm and KMOV airwaves, I used The Reel View podcast with Blaine Ward to vent about this music biopic’s terrible wigs (among other things).

The writers at ZekeFilm took on March Madness by…watching movies about madness. My pick: Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet (1948).

We spent April checking out animated features we’ve missed, so I finally made time for The Iron Giant (1999), which is an example of my favorite kind of lack of originality.

Photo credits: Phantom. All others IMDb.com.

#Round Up #Project Hail Mary #Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice #The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins #The Phantom of the Opera #SNL #Saturday Night Live #Youtube #Kiss All the Time. Disco Occasionally.#Harry Styles #Reds #The Remains of the Day #Academy Awards #Oscars #Cactus Flower #The Sugarland Express #I Swear

round up // FEBRUARY 26

Gotta ask: Am I the only one trying to figure out what to put on the TV now that the Olympics are over? While I didn’t watch every single minute, there’s something comforting about an always-available companion. Even though NBC advertised the heck out of it, the Olympics never feel like they’re shouting, “Look at me!” They’re ready and waiting to wow you with insane ski flips, but they’ll do it whether or not you're there. If you give them your time, you might get to see something insane, or at minimum, you'll get to see Snoop Dogg.

There aren’t a ton of Winter Olympics movies, probably because it’s not easy to shoot on/in snow or ice. But if you’re missing watching people risk breaking their neck on ice skates (sometimes in a Kung Fu Panda or Minions costume), I rounded up the must-watch movies that will cure your the-Olympics-are-over blues on KMOV:

Movie Review Friday: Winter Olympic Themed Picks

And now that your TV isn’t a 24-hour sports center, perhaps you have time and the desire to check out something else. Keep reading for the other watches, reads, and pop culture culture moments that made my February.

February Crowd-Pleasers

1. The Muppet Show (2026 special)

My love for the Muppets has been well-documented, so you know I had a calendar reminder for their return to prime time. This was the Miss Piggy vs. Sabrina Carpenter showdown I never knew I needed as well as the anxious Kermit meltdown I knew I wanted. Cue it up, and then please enjoy this excellent Miss Piggy deep dive from The New York Times.

2. The Rip (2026)

Matt and Ben forever! It’s Good Cops vs. Bad Cops vs. The Cartel in Netflix’s new action thriller that, frankly, is way too good to be called a Netflix action movie. Damon and Affleck are playing on the expectations of their past characters from The Departed and The Town, keeping us on the edge of our seats as we wonder who in their crew isn’t telling the truth (if any of them). Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 8/10

3. Super Bowl LX Highlights

Speaking of Matt and Ben—wait, you didn’t think I was actually going to describe any football highlights here, did you?—was the subtext of the “Good Will Dunkin’” ad that Ben would need Jason Alexander, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Brady, Ted Danson, Jasmine Guy, Matt LeBlanc, Alfonso Ribeiro, and Jaleel White to replace the hole Matt Damon leaves when he’s busy shooting The Odyssey? I’ll let Damon's absence slide since it gave me a brief Friends reunion and a chance to see Sam Malone again, even if the de-aging was unnecessary. Another shout-out goes to the also-needlessly-de-aged Jurassic Park ad, which hilariously misses the point of the movie.

The biggest highlight, of course, was the Bad Bunny performance, AKA the greatest halftime show I’ve ever seen. (All due respect to Lady Gaga’s skydiving!) From the weaving set design to the spirit of celebration that permeated every moment, it didn’t matter that I know him for SNL and Happy Gilmore 2 more than his music. Daniel Feinberg summed it up best at The Hollywood Reporter: “When I don’t understand something, I can either attempt to do a little research and follow a few links and learn about the things I couldn’t process in the moment, or I can complain. And, honestly, why would anybody in their right mind complain? Because I understood that the halftime show was about life and humanity and telling a story in a way that’s nearly without Super Bowl precedent. It was vital in every imaginable definition of the word. It was necessary and it was alive and it was musical, well beyond a simple set list.”

4. Crime 101 (2026)

Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo are reheating, well, Heat in this jewel heist cat-and-mouse action thriller, and with plotting full of as many twists and turns as the 101 freeway, it’s a fun ride. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

5. How to Make a Killing (2026)

Audiences might think of the class-conscious romance The Great Gatsby, the violent satire American Psycho, or the capitalist critique Wall Street while watching How to Make a Killing, but Glen Powell knows how to hold a movie about a morally conflicted character together. The more time I spend with Powell, the more I think of a classic Old Hollywood movie star—Gene Kelly, to be specific. Read more in my review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

MORE FEBRUARY CROWD-PLEASERS // For Keeps (1988) is a sweet coming-of-age (and coming-of-parenthood) dramedy, and don’t miss the weird overlap with Marty Supreme! //Sunday Best by Nick Jonas (2026) recalls his days with the Administration and leans into the sweetness of family life the Brothers only touch on // Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985) is another ‘80s teen comedy that wonderfully didn’t happen on planet Earth, and don’t miss the weird overlap with Dirty Dancing!

February Critic Picks

1. Rewinding the ’80s: Cinema Under the Influence of Music Videos, Action Stars, and a Cold War by John Malahy (2025)

If there’s any criticism of this new Turner Classic Movies book, it’s that it may be too exhaustive! Malahy’s book almost reads like a textbook, mentioning more than 1100 titles. (I always make a Letterboxd list based on the TCM books I read—that’s 500 more titles than the book in second place.) But as in every TCM book, Rewinding the ‘80s synthesizes many trends into one cohesive thread, and it gives due to a decade that’s been unfairly maligned for its supposedly subpar pop culture output.

2. I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron (2010)

When you run out of Nora Ephron movies, how do you cope? By reading Nora Ephron essays! Breezy, funny, and deep, this collection covers growing up, aging, writing, email, cooking, divorce, and Hollywood. They all feel like advice and a warm hug over a cup of tea.

3. Wall Street (1987)

Between Rewinding the ‘80s and the I'm-pretty-sure-these-are-overt-references in How to Make a Killing, it really was time to check out Oliver Stone’s “greed is good” fable. I love when something I’ve heard about for years lives up to the hype! Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, and Martin Sheen are all cooking, and who knew two hours of corporate maneuvers could be so thrilling? Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

4. Man on the Run (2025)

This new Paul McCartney documentary feels like taking a trip through his mind and memories. I, a Millennial Wings fan, teamed up with a Gen X Beatles fan to review it for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

5. Good Reads

Apparently I haven’t shared the journalism and criticism I’ve found thoughtful, encouraging, sobering, and challenging since May, which is why this Round Up of good reads is so darn long. In the interest of your mental sanity, I’m sharing the bad news first and working my way to the happier things—including puppies!

Sigh, the dumpster fire continues…

“Why Do So Many People Think Trump Is Good?” TheAtlantic.com (2025)

“The Republican Party Has a Nazi Problem,” TheAtlantic.com (2026)

“What Wicca’s Origins Teach Us About Christian Nationalism,” TheGospelCoalition.com (2025)

Why the Internet is increasingly becoming the worst:

“The Surprising Way Doomscrolling Rewires Your Brain,” NationalGeographic.com (2025)

“Inside the ‘Dead Internet’ Theory—and Why It’s Spreading,” TIME.com (2025)

“AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event,” TheAtlantic.com (2025)

“This Is What It Looks Like When Nothing Matters,” TheAtlantic.com (2026)

“Killers Without a Cause: The Rise in Nihilistic Violent Extremism,” WashingtonPost.com (2026)

“In an Era of AI Slop and Mid TV, Is It Time for Cultural Snobbery to Make a Comeback?” TheGuardian.com (2025)

Analysis on cultural trends:

“One of the Worst Industries in the World Gets Its Comeuppance,” NYTimes.com (2025)

“Sports Betting Is Legal and Growing More Popular. Harassment of Athletes by Angry Gamblers Is Rising Too,” CNN.com (2025)

“They’re Sprouting Up in Every Rich Neighborhood in America—Including Mine. I Had to Know Where They Came From,” Slate.com (2025) - Thank you, Slate, for answering a question I’d been wondering about walking around my neighborhood for the last few years

“The Great Crime Decline Is Happening All Across the Country,” TheAtlantic.com (2026)

“Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers,” WSJ.com (2026)

“Is Gen X Dying Before Our Eyes?” HollywoodReporter.com (2025) - Poignant again as 2026 kicks off with another string of celebrity deaths

Are we entering another era of “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” thinking?

“Why Women Are Weary of the Emotional Labor of ‘Mankeeping,’” NYTimes.com (2025)

“Poll: Gen Z's Gender Divide Reaches Beyond Politics and Into Its Views on Marriage, Children and Success,” NBCNews.com (2025)

“How a Recession Might Tank American Romance,” TheAtlantic.com (2025)

This “is not a rich enough text to sustain this level of analysis:”

“Can We Not Be Weird About Sydney Sweeney for 5 Seconds?” Vulture.com (2025)

“Why Oscar Think Pieces Need to Go,” HollywoodReporter.com (2025)

Movies, TV, and Music:

“The Oscars Are Giving Serious ’70s Vibes,” HollywoodReporter.com (2026)

“The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century,” NYTimes.com (2025)

“How to Watch Hitchcock: 5 Steps to Unlock the Master of Suspense,” NYTimes.com (2025)

“Bad Projection Is Ruining the Movie Theater Experience,” Vulture.com (2023) - Of all the complaints about movie theaters, this is the most inexcusable one

“Gilmore Girls’s Kirk Is the Man-Child America Needs,” TheAtlantic.com (2016) - How it took me 10 years to find this article I’ll never know

“Squid Game and the Rise of the ‘Ghost Show,’” TheRinger.com (2025)

“I Don’t Know if I Believe in God, but I Believe in Gospel Music,” NYTimes.com (2025)

“How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge,” NewYorker.com (2025)

“Rock’s Legends Were Messy. You’d Never Know That From Today’s Movies,” NYTimes.com (2025)

Finally, some happy news!

“The (Real) Problem With Fake Plants,” TIME.com (2025) - Sometimes killing plants is better than never trying to keep them alive

“7 Ways to Create a Productive Workspace, According to Psychology and Neuroscience,” AestheticsOfJoy.com (2026)

“Visit Museums or Art Galleries and You May Live Longer, New Research Suggests,” CNN.com (2026)

“James Gunn’s Superman Leads to More Than 500% Surge in Dog Adoption Interest, Thanks to Krypto,” TheWrap.com (2025)

MORE FEBRUARY CRITIC PICKS // Miracle: The Boys of ’80 (2026) reminds us how sports can move us to tears // Like Wall Street, Running on Empty (1988) lived up to the hype // Les Girls (1957) has one of the most bonkers plots I've ever seen in a musical or really anywhere, but those GOWNS! Those SETS! The DANCING! // Undercurrent (1946) is exactly the kind of gothic romance I love

ALSO IN FEBRUARY…

At ZekeFilm, we checked out French films we hadn't seen yet. While I'm glad I can finally say I've seen The Passion of Joan of Arc, I can't say that it's a new favorite. Read more at ZekeFilm.

My Best Picture Project slow burn continues with the explosive Oppenheimer. No quibbles with the Academy’s choice from me! Read my Crowd and Critic reviews.

I stopped by KMOV to review How to Make a Killing, and we also chatted about the Toy Story 5 trailer making all of us feel old. Watch it here.

Movie Review Friday: "How to Make a Killing" and "Toy Story 5"

Super Bowl, Rewinding the ‘80s, Nora Ephron, Good Reads. All others IMDb.com.

#Round Up #The Rip #Crime 101 #The Muppet Show #Super Bowl LX #Super Bowl #How to Make a Killing #Man on the Run #Paul McCartney #Good Reads #Wall Street #Rewinding the '80s by John Malahy #Rewinding the '80s #John Malahy #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron #Nora Ephron #Olympics

crowd // OPPENHEIMER (2023)

Photo credits: IMDb.com

The clock is ticking on the atom bomb, and the man setting the watch is J. Robert Oppenheimer.

As we follow him from his days in university to the end of his career, we learn Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is all at once a scientific theorist, a political force, a philandering husband, a distracted father, and a conscientious citizen. After the war, he’s also a problem for Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), whose confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce somehow keeps returning to his relationship with the scientist. Between his answers at his hearing (in black and white) and Oppenheimer’s answers during an interview to renew his security clearance (in color), their memories converge and conflict. The story of Oppenheimer is the story a brilliant mind, but it’s also the story of the bomb that changed the world forever, how power is wielded for political gain, and how scientific theory can never predict the future in full.

Oppenheimer is part courtroom drama, part Western, and part science experiment, but most significantly, it is both wholly Oscar and wholly Christopher Nolan. Like many an Oscar winner, this Best Picture pick tells a biography of a tortured, great man; takes place during a World War; and runs three hours long. Like almost every Nolan film, though, his protagonist never feel like a stock character, his depiction of historical events feels fresh, and his manipulation of time prevents it from feeling like three hours. His layered narrative—almost a given since Memento—is even more complex than Inception or Dunkirk, and it is full of the spectacle and knotty ideas you expect only from him. It may be the most “Oscar-y” of his canon, but it’s executed in only the way he could envision.

Because he didn’t lose his soul in pursuit of the awards many feel should have been his sooner (see: The Dark Knight), this historical epic becomes a clearer-eyed A Beautiful Mind, and the Trinity Test is perhaps the greatest set piece of his career. (And who knew a procedural depiction of a science project could be so thrilling?) The film is edited as one long montage, forcing its characters into the future at a clip. The only challenge to Ludwig Göransson’s propulsive score is the third hour, which slows in energy as Strauss and his staff litigate of the previous two hours and push the limits of how much detail must be included for the sake of historical accuracy.

Bottom line: What could’ve been a stuffy biopic turns out to be an exhilarating sprint through history.

POPCORN POTENTIAL: 8/10

#Oppenheimer #Crowd #8/10 #Single Take #Best Picture #Best Picture Project #Academy Awards #Oscars #Christopher Nolan #Cillian Murphy #Robert Downey Jr.#A Beautiful Mind #Ludwig Göransson #The Dark Knight #Oppenheimer review

critic // OPPENHEIMER (2023)

Photo credits: IMDb.com

A fun fact or you: As of 2026, Oppenheimer’s cast includes five Oscar winners for acting, and the chances of that number increasing are high. Best Actor and Supporting Actor winners Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Gary Oldman welcome Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy to the club with this film, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, or Florence Pugh one day pushed this Best Picture higher up the list of features starring the most winners. While it did have me saying, “Oh hey, I love that guy!” every seven minutes, packing on the cameos isn’t just a stunt. I’m sure every working actor would love to have a Nolan film on their resume (if not be added to his regular troupe), but this film is a testament to why they want it. Is this the best use of Malek? Does Christopher Nolan know this role needs Blunt more than she does the part? Shouldn’t Michael Angarano, Jason Clarke, Dane DeHaan, Alden Ehrenreich, and Josh Hartnett all be working more than they are?

Top-tier casting is essential to saving Oppenheimer from flaws that could take audiences out of the film. For one, actors at this level know how to deliver clunky, heavily expository dialogue. (Damon shouting, “This is the most important f*ing thing to ever happen in the history of the world!” is 10% character development, 90% stating the obvious.) Jean Tatlock’s development suffers from her lack of screen time, but Pugh makes her feel real. And not everyone could hold all of the threads together like Murphy, whose Oppenheimer is frustrating, egotistical, and empathetic all at once. In the words of casting director John Papsidera: “It didn’t behoove either Chris [Nolan]’s concept of them or the tone of the film to have just faceless actors playing these important roles. So we worked really hard on filling out the cast with actors who could connote how special those people were in the real world in a very shorthand way.”*

Oppenheimer also reframes the atomic bomb for those of us decades removed from the event—or at least it did for me. I’ve spent my Millennial life considering the devastation of the bomb and its morality as a way to end World War II. But until I was dropped into the debates at the labs at Los Alamos, I had never considered the cost of not pursuing this scientific breakthrough. Did the Manhattan Project prevent Nazi domination? Did our creating the atomic bomb save lives by creating a Cold War instead of a nuclear war? We’ll never know, but a large cast allows consideration for every view point.

Bottom line: Because practically every part of the filmmaking craft is operating at the highest level, Oppenheimer pushes us to reconsider people and stories we thought we already knew.

ARTISTIC TASTE: 9.5/10

*Yuan, Jada. Unleashing Oppenheimer. Insight Editions, 2023.

round up // NOVEMBER 25 + DECEMBER 25 + JANUARY 26: CROWD vs. CRITIC vs. CHRISTMAS!

November, December, and the start of January are my most intense months for movie marathoning. (Cue the world's tiniest violin!) I attended 13 theatrical screenings in November, squeezed in 20 new releases in December at home (most before final voting was due for St. Louis Film Critics Association on 13th), and then tried to pull all my thoughts together about the year in January. Somehow I do this every year on top of my busiest time at work and the holidays—that means the latter part of January and February are for hibernating!

As per usual, this time of year wasn’t just about seeing as many awards contenders as possible: This is Crowd vs. Critic vs. Christmas! My Christmas movie watching starts in November and goes all the way through January, and I'm always looking new potential holiday favorites. A few of them made the cut this time, alongside a lot of usual suspects: a certain pop singer, the final season of a sci-fi streaming show, several stage productions, a TCM watch, and, yeah yeah yeah...SNL. (Also, multiple version of The Wizard of Oz? That was just a weird coincidence.)

But the crème de la crème? Yes, that’s the Best of 2025. Like many a critic group, the St. Louis Film Critics Association honored One Battle After Another as the top film of the year, and it won in eight additional categories. Weapons, Frankenstein, Sinners, and the latest Mission: Impossible earned multiple awards, too. You can see all of our winners and nominations at STLFilmCritics.org or on this Letterboxd list.

My personal Best of 2025 diverged from the group's consensus. My top 10 is an eclectic bunch: 3 sports dramas, 2 thrillers, 2 comedies, a murder mystery, a rom-com, and a historical drama. And because I don’t know when to quit, I spotlighted some of the action standouts of the year. If you are also hibernating through February, it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on anything you missed.

Holiday Crowd-Pleasers

1. Zootopia 2 (2025)

Because animal puns bring everyone joy! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

2. Taylor Swift: The End of an Era (2025)

Did I cry in these six episodes? More than once. Watching Taylor Swift figure out her surprise songs is magic, but the real highlight of this series is the deeper dive into the lives and talents of her dancers, backup singers, costume designers, and set designers. While we knew the Eras Tour wasn’t as effortless as it looked, this revealed the intention, work, and love that went into this cultural moment.

3. Stranger Things 5 (2025)

Full disclosure: This final season is my least favorite. Why so little Winona Ryder? Why so many junky special effects? Why so few additions to the awesome ‘80s soundtrack? Still, hanging with the Hawkins crew is always a good time, and even a subpar season delivered a new icon named Derek. And with the show’s trademark creative set pieces and a surprisingly satisfying conclusion to Nancy’s romantic travails, this is no Rise of Skywalker. It will be worth revisiting, flaws and all.

4. Saturday Night Live Roundup

A banger of a host lineup hit this Holiday season. No surprise, first-timer Glen Powell was a knockout with his 1000% commitment ("We were acting!"), and Miles Teller, Melissa McCarthy, and Ariana Grande can return as many times as they want.

“Missing Wives Docuseries” (5104 with Miles Teller)

“Monologue" (5106 with Glen Powell)

“AI Photos” (5106)

“Scandinavian Movie” (5106)

“Taken: Airport” (5106)

“Free Sample” (5107 with Melissa McCarthy)

“UPS Delivery Driver” (5107)

“Home Alone” (5109 with Ariana Grande)

“Random Duet Christmas Spectacular” (5109)

I also finally sat down and flipped through The Art of the SNL Portrait by longtime show photographer Mary Ellen Matthews. This collection of hilarious and glamorous bumper photos makes for an excellent coffee table book!

5. Send Help (2026)

Send Help is for those who have been wanting Rachel McAdams to make a sequel to Red Eye, and in the hands of Sam Raimi, it’s just plain fun. Read my full review for ZekeFilm.

MORE HOLIDAY CROWD-PLEASERS // I highly recommend making Gilmore Girls (Soundtrack from the Original Series) by Sam Phillips (2025) the soundtrack to warm up a chilly day walk // I highly recommend making The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean (2025) the soundtrack to improve any day at all // Though it doesn’t hit every note, I want more fun rom-coms like Eternity (2025) // I highly recommend easing on down the road to the next performance of The Wiz National Tour

Holiday Crowd-Pleasers

1. Best of 2025

2025 was a roller coaster of a year for movie fans, but the best films brought catharsis, thrills, laughs, or a little bit of hope. You can read my Best of 2025 at ZekeFilm, and you can make a watchlist of what you've missed on Letterboxd. I’ve also covered a few of my top films elsewhere…

A House of Dynamite (ZekeFilm)

Hamnet and Sentimental Value (KMOV)

Is This Thing On? and No Other Choice (KMOV)

Marty Supreme (KMOV)

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (ZekeFilm)

Eephus, The Naked Gun, and Materialists (The Take-Up Podcast)

2. Whiplash (2014)

Sometimes if you wait to watch a well-reviewed film, it doesn’t live up to the hype. This is not one of those. The tense, taut Whiplash is as good as I hoped it would be. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 10/10

3. The Outsiders National Tour

This adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film comes to life on stage with innovative sets, mellifluous harmonies, and beautifully choreographed fights.

4. The Wizard of Oz in Concert with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

My first full film in concert and my first Wizard of Oz viewing on a large screen! Experiencing the songs and score live isn’t just a new sound mix—it’s a new way to understand musical storytelling. It won’t be my last film with a live orchestra!

5. High and Low (1963)

Film Admissions returns to ZekeFilm, and January was dedicated to the cinema of Japan. My admission: Until High and Low, I’d only seen period pieces from Akira Kurosawa. Read more about a film as crisp and thrilling ever at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

MORE HOLIDAY CRITIC PICKS // I'm dedicating this to shouting out 2025 films that just missed the cut for my Best of list, like the post-World War II dramas There’s Still Tomorrow and Nuremberg // Solid documentaries include Deaf President Now!, Cover-Up, and Breakdown: 1975 // Don’t skip the Richard Linklater double feature Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon // Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman elevate the melodrama of Song Sung Blue with their song-and-dance skills // Plus, a bonus shout-out to a Turner Classic Movies watch: There will never be too many charming jewel heist movies like The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973)

Christmas Treats

1. A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (2025)

I will not apologize for loving every single second of this musical tribute to the boys’ time in therapy. You could do way worse than a made-for-streaming Christmas movie in which Joe Jonas explains he knows how to fly a plane because, "I know Glen Powell from Top Gun!” Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 4/10

2. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

I never prioritized this Christmas movie because I assumed it would be…schlocky. While this making-of-a-Charles-Dickens-classic story is sentimental, I’m happy to say my impression from the trailers so wrong I’m adding it to my list of must-watch Christmas movies. In this telling, Dickens (Dan Stevens) has more in common with Scrooge (in his imagination, Christopher Plummer) than Bob Cratchit, and his writing is an uphill battle. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

3. A Christmas Story: The Musical National Tour

While no derivative of Bob Clark’s Christmas classic could match the original, this touring show is a perfect way to introduce littler ones to the theater without it feeling like a chore for parents. Another example of a creative physical set making all the difference!

4. Prancer (1989)

A young girl (Rebecca Harrell Tickell, heart-tugging) believes she has found Santa’s lost reindeer in the woods just before her gruff father (Sam Elliott) is about to send her away because he can’t figure out how to be a single parent. Another new-to-me, must-watch Christmas movie—and another Christmas movie that made me cry. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

5. Double Feature - Classic Christmas Movies About Adoption: Blossoms in the Dust (1941) + Room for One More (1952)

In Blossoms in the Dust (Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), Greer Garson portrays Edna Gladney, a pioneer in improving the lives of orphaned children in spite of society's expectations. In Room for One More (8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), Cary Grant and Betsy Drake take in foster children just before the holidays. Though Christmas only lasts a few minutes each in each film, both capture the spirit of the season, focusing on togetherness and family.

Also This Holiday Season…

I reviewed Best Picture nominee Train Dreams for ZekeFilm, which is the most beautiful-looking film of the year

I had a nice time at Wicked: For Good, but in my review for ZekeFilm, I couldn’t help but get stuck on some of the ways it undercuts its own mission

I also stopped by the Carney Show on KTRS to discuss Wicked: For Good and the Brendan Fraser dramedy Rental Family

In my first review for ZekeFilm this year, I wonder why Chris Pratt keeps choosing movies like Mercy (2026)

Photo Credits: The Outsiders, The Wizard of Oz, A Christmas Story. All others IMDb.com.

round up // SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER 25

The last weekend of September, I bopped around my neighborhood yard sales. In chit chatting with a new-to-me neighbor, we mentioned what we’d noticed about each other’s houses. “Not to be creepy, but I’ve wondered about your backyard,” I said. “Not to be creepy, “she replied, “but I’ve always admired your big TV. I love old movies, too!”

Well, at least I’m living up to my brand! This month I logged my 500th unique watch on Turner Classic Movies, and I’m rounding up new work from a lot of my favorite artists. Don’t worry, though—there’s plenty new to recommend as well. This Round Up includes several bucket list items and two kinds of…dynamite? I assure you they couldn’t be more different.

September + October Crowd-Pleasers

1. Jonas-palooza!

At least one grandma agrees with me: the Jonas Brothers are aging like fine wine. Their pop-rock blend is filling a gap in a genre starving for melody and guitars in this age of mumblecore. Greetings From Your Hometown (2025) fits in their canon but still experiments in collaborations with other brother-based bands (Switchfoot, the Bee Gees). Their Jonas 20 Tour is just as feel-good and competent as their album, which I only mean as a compliment. Two decades in, they’ve proven they care about their craft, their fans, and a great show—there’s no need to reinvent or rethink what they do better than pretty much anyone else in their arena.

2. The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift (2025)

No complaints from this showgirl! Okay, “Wood” is pretty juvenile—I wouldn’t have minded another choice of subject matter for that catchy hook. But after the drama and melancholy of The Torturted Poets Department, this 12-track collection of bops dug me out of those two graves with one gun. This reputation sister album throws in dashes of 1989, Lover, and Midnights to make another cohesive batch of songs declaring her deep-in-love status.“Elizabeth Taylor,” “Opalite,” “Ruin the Friendship,” “Actually Romantic,” and “Honey” have been rotating as the stuck-in-my-head track du jour, and “The Fate of Ophelia" music video is Swift’s most cinematic directorial effort yet, worthy of the big screen it premiered on at The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.

3. Double Binge Read - Taylor Swift Deep-Dives: Taylor Swift by the Book by Tiffany Tatreau and Rachel Feder (2024) and Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras by Sarah Chapelle (2024)

The Taylor Swift-palooza continues! Taylor Swift by the Book digs into her literary inspirations, and, boy, I had not picked up on every reference to Peter Pan and The Great Gatsby even after 17 years of listening to some of those tracks. Taylor Swift Style digs into the how her fashion choices reflect the music she has created, their coded messages, and her expert (and on-brand) mix of high and low clothing and accessories. Fair warning: your TBR list and your shopping lists will only get longer.

4. Saturday Night Live Season 51

Almost 1000 episodes in, I’m still in, too. These are the bits that brought me the most joy at the start of season 51:

“KPop Demon Hunters” (5101 with Bad Bunny)

“Jeopardy” (5101)

“Inventing Spanish” (5101)

“Monologue” (5102 with Amy Poehler)

“Non-Alcoholic Beer” (5102)

“Psychic Talk Show” (5102)

“Weekend Update: 13lb Baby Joke-Off with Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Colin Jost & Michael Che” (5102)

“Work Birth” (5102)

“Experienced Lawyers” (5102)

“Plans” (5103 with Sabrina Carpenter)

“Girlboss Seminar” (5103)

"Weekend Update: The Movie Guy on Scary Movies” (5103)

5. Only Murders in the Building Season 5

Mobsters, pop stars, and robots, oh my! Charles, Mabel, and Oliver are back to solve the murder of the Arconia’s doorman, but they’ll run into more billionaires, gamblers, and stray fingers than they’d ever guess before the season ends. Any time with this hilarious, ever-growing cast (and with Selena Gomez’s fabulous jackets and sweaters) is so well-spent you might find you don’t care whodunnit as long as they keep coming back for another season.

ALSO IN SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER // Though some tracks are too saucy for my taste, my favorites on Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter (2025) are on repeat // The Wrong Paris (2025) is the exact kind of dumb rom-com I nevertheless enjoy // More singer-songwriters albums like A Matter of Time by Laufey (2025) and Messy by Olivia Dean (2023), please! // Tron: Ares (2025) is just okay, but its score slaps // Someone went to a Teen Wolf, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles, fell asleep to MTV, and then woke up to create Teen Witch (1989), one of the most unhinged movies I’ve ever seen and would never change // Regretting You (2025) is corny as can be, and I had a great time // The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso (2025) is dying to be made into a big screen time travel thriller-romance

September + October Critic Picks

1. Greece!

I’ve crossed another country off the bucket list, and the views did not disappoint. In Athens, don’t miss the National Archaeological Museum and the Acropolis Museum, where you can see some of the most famous ancient artifacts in the world. And of course, don’t miss the Parthenon, which is just as impressive in person as you’d hope. If you island hop, those legendary Santorini sunsets aren’t overrated, and the windy streets there and on Paros reveal another cute shop or bistro draped in bougainvillea around every corner. The more souvlaki and strong iced coffee you have, the better! My travel blogger sister documented our trip in detail, and I can’t sum it up better than she did, so check out the recap on her travel blog, Round Trip.

2. Double Feature - Robert Redford in 1972: The Hot Rock + Jeremiah Johnson

One of the weird things about getting older is that celebrity deaths hit harder and more often than you expect. Shortly after my Greece trip, I poured one out for one of the greats by checking out several Robert Redford films that had been waiting for me on my DVR for who knows who long. The Hot Rock (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10) is a jewel heist that paved the way for Ocean’s Twelve, and Jeremiah Johnson (7/10 // 9/10) is a heartbreaking Western that proves his star power.

3. Double Feature - Nuclear Anxiety Thrillers: Fail Safe (1964) + A House of Dynamite (2025)

Sidney Lumet’s Fail Safe (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 10/10) may have been the blueprint for Kathryn Bigelow’s update for audiences in the age of misinformation, Internet conspiracy theories, and artificial intelligence-powered bots, but both stand alone as excellent thrillers. Read my full review of A House of Dynamite for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 10/10

4. Paul McCartney's Got Back Tour

I’m more of a Wings girlie than a Beatles super fan, but yeah, I cried during his acoustic solo performance of “Blackbird.” If you ever want to know you’re in the presence of a GOAT, make a point to hear “Let It Be,” "Live and Let Die,” and “Hey Jude” back-to-back-to-back in a stadium filled with thousands who will sing nothing but “na na na naaah” for minutes in a row.

5. Life of Pi National Tour

In one of the most innovative stage shows I’ve ever seen, this adaptation of Yann Martel’s bestseller incorporates puppets, lighting effects, and physical sets both immersive and magical.

ALSO IN SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER // I’m not as enthused about Sinners and One Battle After Another (2025) as some other film fans, but the highs are so high in both // Catherine Deneuve recreates an icon in The President’s Wife (2023) // What’s a better recipe for a Hitchcock thriller than the murder and amnesia sprinkled with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck in Spellbound (1945)? // Springsteen: Deliver Me Nowhere (2025) hits the typical musician biopic beats, but it hits them right on tempo

ROUND UP RECAP // Napoleon Dynamite Live!

I’ve been quoting and dancing along to Napoleon Dynamite almost since it’s release in 2004. But watching this at a screening with Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, and Jon Gries with hundred of other fans? That’s special. If this 20th-plus-anniversary tour for this little movie that could comes to your town to share behind-the-scenes stories and play tetherball with you, don’t miss it.

Also in September + October…

On KMOV, I kicked off October by previewing three October films I was looking forward to. One was recommended above, and I’ll be catching the other two as soon as I can.

I wrapped up October on KMOV with a classic thriller recommendation for Halloween and quick reviews of Regretting You and A House of Dynamite

Movie Review Friday: Spooky Season Edition

For ZekeFilm, I dug into the modern paranoia thriller After the Hunt, which ends up more successful as an artifact to think about and discuss than as an artifact itself. Read the full review.

Photo credits: Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift Style, Taylor Swift by the Book, Paul McCartney, Life of Pi, Napoleon Dynamite. Greece my own. All others IMDb.com.

round up // JULY + AUGUST 25

Summer is for blockbusters, baseball, broad comedies, outdoor musicals, library reading challenges, and long weekend trips.

Summer is also apparently the time for podcasts. As I was reviewing all of the new-to-me pop culture discoveries I made in July and August, I realized I had listened to enough limited series and audio reunions to fill up half of this Round Up. A happy coincidence? TIME dropped its top 100 podcasts of all time list in July, and I’m recommending three of their picks here. (I’ve recommended several others in previous Round Ups, too.) In addition to my normal Crowd-Pleasers and Critic Picks, please a special bonus section of five additional podcasts, as well as a Round Up Recap of two not-new-to-me pop culture items.

Summer is also a moment to check in on the film year. At the start of July, ZekeFilm writers ranked their top movies of 2025 so far, and our ranked lists formed one aggregated list. Spoiler alert: Three of my five picks made our cumulative top five, and many of the titles we selected will be familiar if you scroll back through past Round Ups. They include comedies, dramas, horror, action-adventures, and romances. Find them all at Zekefilm.

July + August Crowd-Pleasers

1. Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)

While I hoped for greater narrative coherence from an original Jurassic Park screenwriter, this series continues to leave me awestruck with its dino VFX. Plus, the Spielberg homages? My catnip. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. Black Sheep (1996)

With the limited number of Chris Farley/David Spade collabs we got, we’re lucky that this political comedy is one of them. If you love Tommy Boy but haven’t watched this one, drop everything you’re doing now and make time for it. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

3. Double Feature - Summer 2025 Superheroes: Superman + The Fantastic Four: First Steps

With the caveat that both succumb to classic superhero movie problems (Fantastic Four’s blah villain, Superman’s dependence on the phrase “anti-proton river”), both prove the superhero formula isn’t entirely exhausted. Lois’s interview in Superman (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10) is one of the best scenes of the summer, and it makes me hope the sequel steers into a focus on Clark Kent (and Krypto, obviously). The retrofuturist vibes of Fantastic Four (9/10 // 7/10) were the Incredibles homage I didn't know I needed. Watch my full review on KMOV.

Taylor is receiving the new Fantastic Four & Sorry Baby movies

4. Double Feature - Summer 2025 Comedy Reboots: The Naked Gun + Freakier Friday

I went into both of these IP revivals prepared to be disappointed—sometimes I love being wrong. The Naked Gun (Crowd 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10) captures the spirit of the original Leslie Nielsen trilogy, adding self-aware spoofing of Liam Neeson’s late-stage action career. Freakier Friday (9/10 // 7/10) reminds us why Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan’s chemistry was so special two decades ago, reigniting their manic repartee. Though a few jokes in Freakier pay homage to the original, no need to be a diehard fan of the originals to enjoy either in this double feature.

5. Triple Feature - Summer 2025 Crime Thrillers: Nobody 2 + Highest 2 Lowest + Caught Stealing

Just like a few months ago, it’s time to choose your fighter: Bob Odenkirk, Denzel Washington, or Austin Butler. Your motivation: Ruined family vacation, missing son, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your villain: An unhinged crime boss, a desperate kidnapper, or New York thugs. Caught Stealing (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10) proves Butler has the “it” factor, and Highest 2 Lowest (8.5/10 // 8/10) includes one of the best scenes of the year. You can read my full review of dad-core Nobody 2 (8.5/10 // 6.5/10) at ZekeFilm.

MORE SUMMER CROWD-PLEASERS // If you’re in the mood for Christmas in July, Spirited (2022) will do the trick // Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) is a narrative mess, but I've also laughed through it three times, so I can’t judge too harshly // After the Sunset (2004) is pretty good for a movie I didn’t know existed before Netflix recommended it // The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (2023) is a feel-good novel start-to-finish

July + August Critic Picks

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814, Annotated Edition by Deidre Shauna Lynch 2016)

TBH, this isn’t my favorite Austen novel, but I’m just too darn proud of finishing the 500+ pages not to include it on my list. A special shout-out to annotator Lynch, whose footnotes filled with historical context on landscaping, architecture, and etiquette revealed more of Austen’s humor, character work, and themes. And, of course, shout-out to Austen, who took interest in the rich inner life of a demure woman like Fanny.

2. The Friend (2024)

A cheat code at making me cry in a movie: any emotional scene involving a dog. After Bill Murray’s unexpected passing, his friend and colleague Naomi Watts takes in his Great Dane until she can find someone who lives in a dog-friendly building to adopt him. Easier said than done given the long roster of ex-wives and ruffled feathers he left in his wake. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

3. Evita at The Muny

My least original thought in this Round Up: Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice = good at musicals! The Muny’s production matched their musical prowess with incredible vocalists and choreography.

4. Eephus (2025)

Wow wow wow. This baseball drama set during the final game in a small-town adult league captures the the sport’s elegance and also reminds me I’m going to grow old and die someday. Wow wow wow. Crowd: 6.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. Portland!

When asked about my first trip to Oregon, I just keep saying, “Portland has good vibes.” Every corner I turned in this walkable city was covered in roses, populated with cute pups, and led to a coffee shop. For a perfect long weekend, be sure to stop and smell the millions of roses at the International Rose Test Garden, taste the wacky flavors of Voodoo Doughnuts while you walk around the Saturday Market, peruse the four stories of titles in Powell’s Books, and drive the Columbia River Highway for scenic cliff and waterfall views.

MORE CRITIC PICKS // One Touch of Venus (1948) explores one of my favorite tropes: falling in love with a picture // Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg (2012) challenges me to rethink my love for compound sentences // Badlands (1973) confirms I need to catch up on Terrence Malick's filmography // I’ll just admit it: Here (2024) made me cry on a plane // The Enchanted Cottage (1945) combines the magic of Beauty and the Beast with the class-conscious romance of Cinderella // With its style and voice,Maggie; or a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee (2025) proves more novels should be under 200 pages // Knowing the twist in The Stepford Wives (1975) doesn’t spoil its power

July + August Podcast Picks

1. Academy Museum Podcast (2022-23)

I’m hoping the dormant feed for the official Academy Museum podcast revives after listening to the great two seasons focused on game-changing Oscars ceremonies and the art of casting.

2. Taylor Swift on New Heights

A good hang that has me counting down the days to Mean Girls day.

3. The Plot Thickens Season 6: Cleopatra

Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz digs into his family archive to explore the making of 1963’s “wildly successful and much maligned” epic Cleopatra.

4. The Gilmore Guys Reunion

A warm, nostalgic hug that had me laughing for three hours straight.

5. Mission Accomplished (2025)

Brian Raftery returns on The Big Picture’s feed to cover key films from the first decade of the millennium. Who knew there’d be so much overlap in Anchorman and Zodiac to chew on?

Round Up Recap // Moneyball + The Big Picture

I’m signing off with one more tribute to The Big Picture. In July, I attended their screening of Moneyball and live recording of their accompanying “25 for ’25” episode at the Music Box Theatre. (If you listen to the episode, I am one of the people shouting “Bride Wars!” about 20 minutes in.) Moneyball’s patter and insight into data-driven sports still feels fresh 14 years after release—could 14th be too low a ranking in the best 25 movies of the 21st century? I highly recommend catching a big screen viewing of this one if you can, but Sean Fennessy and Amanda Dobbins’s insightful commentary will hold you over till then.

Also in July + August…

I checked out Sorry, Baby, which announces a new screen presence with staying power. Read my full review for ZekeFilm

If your kids love The Bad Guys 2, I’m so happy for them. It really was not for me. Read my full review for ZekeFilm.

Photo credits: Mansfield Park, Muny, Academy Museum Podcast, New Heights, Cleopatra, Gilmore Guys, Mission Accomplished. Portland and Big Picture my own. All others IMDb.com.

round up // JUNE 25

Ballerinas and street dancing, sunrises and sunsets, lovers falling in and out of love…June had it all, but only 10 can make the Round Up. These are my top Crowd and Critic pop culture picks for the month in the order I experienced them.

June Crowd-Pleasers

1. Ballerina (2025)

Because flame throwers don’t get enough attention in action movies! Listen to my full review on the The Carney Show on KTRS. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

2. Bunheads (2012-13)

Between Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino created another dramedy that deserved more than a season. When Vegas showgirl Sutton Foster elopes and is widowed in the pilot, she sticks around his small town to help teach at his mother-in-law’s (Kelly Bishop) dance studio. Teen drama, regular ballet performances, and tons of cameos from Gilmore favorites make this an easy binge. Though I’ve seen bits and pieces over the years, as an eight-year host of a Gilmore Girls podcast, I’m embarrassed to say it took me this long to watch all the way through!

3. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (2025)

You should know by now I’m all in on The Hunger Games, but you can’t blame me when Suzanne Collins keeps writing unputdownable thrillers. Even though we learned the results of Haymitch’s Games in Katniss’s books, Collins found a new angle into his teenage experience. Instead of watching the Capitol burn to the ground (or rise from the ashes as in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), we are watching the unsexy part of a revolution. Haymitch’s story is about not giving up the fight even if there’s no telling when the harvest of your seeds will be reaped.

4. F1: The Movie (2025)

Joseph Kosinski’s new sports drama borrows quite a bit of its structure and ideas from Top Gun: Maverick, but hey, didn’t every single person on planet Earth like that movie? Kosinski is establishing himself as one of our greatest modern thrill makers, this time by giving the audience an authentic experience behind the wheel. Though Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, Sarah Niles, and (especially) Damson Idris are scene-stealers, Brad Pitt is reminding us why he’s been a star for so long. His performance is one part Moneyball, one part commentary on his own celebrity, and one part Paul Newman homage, and it’s just the center of gravity this film needs to prevent skidding into melodrama or self-seriousness. You can watch more in my KMOV review. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

The latest movie reviews!

5. M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

I have mixed feeling about artificial intelligence. I worry it’s making the world dependent on Big Tech, proliferating plagiarism, reducing improvement of our critical thinking, and infringing on artists’ livelihoods. But also, I guess it’s pretty funny when M3GAN dances? Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

MORE JUNE CROWD-PLEASERS // Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2025) combines ecological study with a murder mystery // I’m jumping on the bandwagon and confirming The Dave Matthews Band puts on a good show // It’s no Jaws, but Jaws 2 (1978) is still pretty fun! // Did you know there’s a creature feature starring Mahershala Ali, Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, Topher Grace, and Danny Trejo? It’s called Predators (2010) // Tommy Lee Jones is unhinged in Under Siege (1992)

June Critic Picks

1. The Life of Chuck (2025)

Not everything works in this Stephen King adaptation, but it’s rare to watch something with no idea where it’s going. With that in mind, I’ll keep plot description to a minimum to preserve surprises, but I will tell you the opening is act is suspenseful, the second act is magical, and the last is curious. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Hamill threw his hat in the ring for a Best Supporting Actor run this year. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

2. The Plot Thickens Season 5: Decoding John Ford

In my favorite season of The Plot Thickens sofar, the Turner Classic Movies podcast explores the enigma who was John Ford, including his impact on creating our views on American history, his service in World War II, and his volatile relationships with his collaborators.

3. Materialists (2025)

Materialists fits in within canonized romantic comedies like Broadcast News, His Girl Friday, Pride & Prejudice, Working Girl, and You’ve Got Mail because of its depth of insight into the overlap between romance and money—and because it’s just such a darn pleasure to watch. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

4. The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)

Is this Civil Wars fan-fic? No matter the inspiration, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan’s folksy duets are wonderful, and Tim Key is a scene-stealer I hope to start seeing more of. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

5. Before Sunset (2004)

Once upon a time when the Facebook Relationship Status mattered, "It's Complicated" must’ve existed for relationships like Jesse and Celine’s. Nine years after their brief encounter in Before Sunrise, a chance meeting makes them question everything that’s happened since then. In just over an hour’s tour through Paris, they discuss love, art, family, and commitment, and somehow that’s enough to put us on the edge of our seats the whole time. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

MORE JUNE CRITIC PICKS // SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver (2025) is the chill vibe I’ve been looking for // Jackie Brown (1997) is new upper tier Tarantino for me // Atonement (2007) is another Joe Wright beauty // In the best tracks on I quit by Haim (2025), their most rock-forward album yet explores our own immaturity and inability to commit

Also in June…

I continued my Best Picture Project with this year's winner, Anora. Spoiler alert: I'm more mixed on it than the Academy.

I reviewed the live action remake of How to Train Your Dragon for ZekeFilm and for KMOV.

I added two films in my Round Up this month to my Letterboxd list of every movie I remember making me cry (which I know is missing many that made me sniffle before I joined Letterboxd). You can also follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I’m watching in real time before next month’s Round Up.

Photo credit: Sunrise on the Reaping, Plot Thickens. All others IMDb.com.

#F1 the Movie #Round Up #Materialists #M3GAN 2.0 #The Life of Chuck #Ballerina #The Plot Thickens #TCM #Bunheads #Sunrise on the Reaping #Suzanne Collins #The Hunger Games #The Ballad of Wallis Island #Before Sunset #Turner Classic Movies

crowd // ANORA (2024)

Photo credits: IMDb.com

Ani dreams of more than this.

Her source of income may involve frequent removal of her clothing—and even that just keeps the lights on—but she thinks her future may change when she meets Russian nepo baby Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn) while on the clock. In a Pretty Woman-esque deal, he offers Ani (Mikey Madison) $15k for her company for a week, but 7 days later, they keep finding excuses to stay together. Could his wealth and status finally be the key to her financial liberation? Or will he disappoint her like every other attempt she’s made to forge a future?

Both my Crowd and Critic Reviews for this Best Picture winner will return to the same theme: Sometimes you can’t help but get in your own way. The words I heard other people use to describe Anora during Awards Season included “hilarious” and “fun,” but I could only agree with fellow viewers when they switched to describing the “stressful,” “tense,” and “sad" moments.

I also heard Anora described as a more realistic Pretty Woman, which misses most of what I love about Garry Marshall’s Cinderella tale. Of the two, Anora was the film in which I struggled to suspend my disbelief in the tragedy to find the comedy. Everyone has their own limits—apparently mine lands somewhere beyond the hate satire of Jojo Rabbit and teen murders of Heathers but not as far as Ani’s tragicomic misadventures. A young woman stuck between the rock of the whims of a flippant Russian oligarch’s son and the hard place of a competitive, low-paying strip club? Even if both of these situations are of her own volition on some level, I can’t ignore the financial and social desperation for even a moment of its nearly two-and-a-half-hour run. (Mild spoiler alert: Romanticizing a second potential relationship with someone who physically assaulted her doesn’t help. End spoiler alert.) Perhaps that’s a testament to writer/director/editor/producer Sean Baker’s ability to build empathy for people ignored by society at large, which worked exceptionally in The Florida Project, but it makes this story a tough hang.

Bottom line: Our most recent Best Picture winner has a compelling premise, but boy, is it a downer.

POPCORN POTENTIAL: 6.5/10

#Best Picture Project #Best Picture #Academy Awards #Oscars #2024 #Anora #Sean Baker #Mikey Madison #Mark Eydelshteyn #Crowd #6.5/10 #Pretty Woman #Anora review

critic // ANORA (2024)

Photo credits: IMDb.com

The second part of how I can’t get out of my own way: Do movies like Anora perpetuate the consumption of women’s bodies as a commercial product?

That certainly was not Sean Baker’s intent, and in the age of intimacy coordinators, I have no reason to believe Mikey Madison or anyone else rest of the cast were put into situations à la Last Tango in Paris. The script is self-aware about the tough realities a woman like Ani faces, and though I will watch Pretty Woman more times than Anora before I die, it’s not because I believe Vivian Ward’s romantic escape to a new life is anything more than a yuppie fantasy. Any human story is a story worth telling in some fashion, especially for vulnerable people.

And yet: The medium is the message. Madison’s lead performance is a force announcing a new leading lady in Hollywood, and one I endorse as Best Actress-worthy in spite of my tepid response to the film as a whole. But are the frank onscreen depictions of Ani’s work reducing the cast to their bodies instead of their character work? In a perfect world, we’d all be mature enough to accept human bodies as a part of life, but we all know that’s not the world we live in. Research shows women in films are still objectified more, dressed more provocatively, shown without clothing more often, and speak less than men in film. There’s also the long-standing discussion: Because women are rewarded so often with Best Actress statues for roles in which they disrobe, does this mean Hollywood more or less demands they do this to be celebrated? Three of the five Best Actress winners of the 2020s have met this criterion, while none of the Best Actor winners have revealed as much skin, if any at all.

While fellow Best Actress winner Emma Stone’s work in Poor Things and Madison’s performance here provide a valuable humanization of women trying to make their way in the world through illegal means, I struggle with the subtext that their line of work isn’t just inevitable but valuable. Those in the oldest profession will always be more vulnerable to violence, and legalizing it would likely make trafficking easier, thus putting more people in those vulnerable positions against their will. We need more movies that humanize people like Ani, but since we live in the world where advertising, online “communities,” billionaires, and media moguls openly promote violence against women, does showing her at work actually undercut the film’s message? Perhaps to a hammer everything looks like a nail, but I’m not the only one concerned about modern media’s connection with violence and a broken dating culture.

Bottom line: Anora leaves me with many mixed feelings. Mikey Madison is a bright new star, but its vision feels disconnected from its execution.

ARTISTIC TASTE: 7.5/10

#Best Picture Project #Best Picture #Oscars #Academy Awards #Mikey Madison #2024 #Anora #Critic #7.5/10 #Emma Stone #Poor Things #Last Tango in Paris #Sean Baker #Pretty Woman #Anora review

round up // APRIL + MAY 25

8 reviews for ZekeFilm, 4 KMOV appearances, and 2 radio segments—it’s been a busy spring! April and May have been filled with solid action films, sketch comedy, and lots and lots of good reads. These have been the pop culture moments and items bringing me joy this season in the rough order of when I experienced them.

April + May Crowd-Pleasers

1. Triple Feature - 2025 Action Thrillers: The Accountant + The Amateur + A Working Man

Choose your fighter: Ben Affleck, Rami Malek, or Jason Statham. Your motivation: Murdered colleague, murdered wife, or kidnapped family friend. Your villain: Mexican cartel, terrorists, or Russian mobsters. Your second: Jon Bernthal, Laurence Fishburne, or no one because you’re a solo act. Honestly, I’ll take all of the above, even Malek as a skinny Jason Bourne/twitchy Jack Ryan in The Amateur (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10). You can read my full ZekeFilm review of The Accountant 2 (9/10 // 7.5/10), and watch my review of A Working Man (9/10 // 7/10) on KMOV:

2. Thunderbolts* (2025)

Thunderbolts* may not be a game-changer for superhero movies or for the MCU, but it does feel like a reset in the right direction, and here's where it ranks for me in the MCU. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

3. SNL Round Up

You have three agenda items to make your weekend immediately better…

A) Add some silliness to your day with these Saturday Night Live sketches:

“Mascara Commercial” (5014 with Lady Gaga)

“Weekend Update: Lord Gaga on His Unwavering Support for His Wife Lady Gaga” (5014) - Truly shocking this hasn’t been an SNL bit before

“Big Dumb Line ft. Joe Jonas” (5015 with Mikey Madison)

“Monologue” (5016 with Jack Black)

“Indiana Jones” (5016)

“One Uppers” (5016)

“Weekend Update: Ego Nwodim on the White House Correspondents' Dinner” (5016)

“Monologue” (5017 with Jon Hamm)

“Check to Check Business News” (5017) - Too relatable

“Weekend Update: Chen Biao on Trump's China Tariffs” (5017)

“Monologue” (5018 with Quinta Brunson)

“Will and Todd’s Radical Experience” (5018)

“Forever 31” (5018) - Again, too relatable

“Service Dogs” (5019 with Walton Goggins) - I am pro-real dogs on live television

“Weekend Update: A Guy Who Just Walked into a Spiderweb on Trump's Tariffs” (5019) - Again (again), too relatable

“Scarlett Johansson Is Saved…” - I don’t usually share promo bits, but this one got me

"Local News Stories” (5020 with Scarlett Johansson)

“Please Don't Destroy - First Class ft. Bad Bunny” (5020)

B) Check out the Questlove-directed music documentary Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music on Peacock. Even though it’s self-congratulatory, the mash-up montages are worth the price of admission.

C) And still riding on the high of SNL 50, these GQ articles capture a cornucopia of memories from every era of the series:

"SNL 50 Reminded Us Why Saturday Night Live Still Matters," GQ.com (2025)

“50 Saturday Night Live Cast Members Talk About What It’s Like to Audition for Saturday Night Live—And How They Celebrated Getting Hired,” GQ.com (2025)

“50 Saturday Night Live Cast Members on Their All-Time Favorite Sketches,” GQ.com (2025)

“50 Saturday Night Live Cast Members Reveal Their Favorite Saturday Night Live Cast Members,” GQ.com (2025)

“50 Saturday Night Live Cast Members Talk About the Greatest, Weirdest Sketches You Never Got to See,” GQ.com (2025)

“50 Saturday Night Live Cast Members Recall Their Most Unbelievable, Thrilling, and Embarrassing Guest-Host Encounters,” GQ.com (2025)

4. Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney (2025-)

It’s unclear to me why more clips aren’t available from the new season of Everybody’s Live—which 12 episodes later I still think is a worse title than Everybody’s in L.A.—but don’t let that stop you from watching every weird, wonderful episode from start-to-finish. (Trust me, you don’t want to miss Richard Kind behaving like Gene Simmons after a “head injury.”) Who thinks to interview Michael Jackson’s chimp? Who is willing to share their failure in booking Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Who thinks to have 11 actors from Death of a Salesman perform its famous monologue simultaneously? Every week John Mulaney and his writers give me something I never knew I wanted, and I can only help they’ll return for another season of hanging up on callers, discussing dinosaur skeletal construction, and encouraging men to Know Your H.

“11 Willy Lomans”

“Netflix AI Executive Assistant“

“John Mulaney's Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Story”

“How Ray Lewis Changed John Mulaney’s Life"

“Bubbles Jackson Interview”

“The Making of a Charli xcx Joke”

“John Mulaney Does Not Think Dinosaurs Are Put Together Correctly”

“Terminator 2 Stunt Performer Focus Group”

“Ayo Edebiri’s Letterboxd Review of Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney”

“John vs. Richard Kind's New Girlfriend”

“What If Seinfeld Was Phish”

"Who are John Mulaney and Andy Samberg Based On?”

5. Karate Kid: Legends (2025)

Karate and kung fu team up for the best Karate Kid since 1984 in this legacy sequel. Read my full review for ZekeFilm or watch my KMOV review for more.

MORE APRIL + MAY CROWD-PLEASERS // Honeybee by BØRNS (2025) has become a go-to part of my spring soundtrack // The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop (2024) brings insight into the challenging careers of actors and dancers in addition to must-read behind-the-scenes stories from the set of Gilmore Girls //Companion (2025) is a sneakily thoughtful horror movie about using and abusing people (and thankfully, light on the horror) // Please put Dave Bautista in more junky action movies like The Killer’s Game (2024) // G20 (2025) isn’t my first choice for a movie in which Viola Davis plays the President, but it’s pretty fun for fans of White House Down and 24 // Music for People Who Believe in Love by Joe Jonas (2025) proves heartbreak pop needn’t be malaise

April + May Critic Picks

1. Warfare (2025)

This real-time war film starring the next generation of Hollywood leading men is light on story but heavy on realism. Watch my KMOV review. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

If you're into thrillers and drama this could be the weekend for you at the movies. We're taking a deep dive into a pair of films hitting th

2. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by John Didion (1968)

Joan Didion’s writing has been one of my blind spots, but I’d happily continue looking into her work. This collection of essays is full of California nostalgia (Californiostalgia?) and observations on the cultural changes of the ‘60s, especially the tour de force title work. Other highlights: a tribute to the myth of John Wayne (“John Wayne: A Love Song”), proof every decade complains they live in the worst era for film (“I Can’t Get That Monster Out of My Mind”), the weirdness that is Las Vegas (“Marrying Absurd”), and a journey through my own brain’s organizational hierarchy (“On Keeping a Notebook”).

3. Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918–1939 at the St. Louis Art Museum

So nice I drove by twice! The St. Louis Art Museum’s current featured exhibit (running through late July) showcases post-World I, Jazz Age, and Great Depression automobiles, fashion, furniture, photography, and art that captures the massive world change in these two decades. My biggest takeaway? I wish we showed the same level of attentive craftsmanship and creativity on what we use every day.

4. The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

Can I explain the financial scheme motivating and structuring this father-daughter road trip? Goodness, no. But even if this isn’t my favorite Wes Anderson comedy, it’s no end to his hot streak. Michael Cera is hopefully a new permanent addition to his troupe of players, the visual patterns are still divine, Benedict Cumberbatch’s eyebrows are perfection, and it’s a perfect use of a small dose of Tom Hanks. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

5. Good Reads

As of late, I’ve been reading about trends in…

…culture shifts:

“Why America is Turning Into a Nation of Homebodies,” FastCompany.com (2025)

“Mental Health Crisis ‘Means Youth Is No Longer One of Happiest Times of Life,’” TheGuardian.com (2025)

“The Rise Of Stationerycore: Why A Digital Generation Is Falling In Love With Analogue,” forbes.com (2025)

“Young Men and Women Are Taking the 'Gender Gap' to Staggering New Levels,” NBCNew.com (2025)

“What to Make of These $690 Flip-Flops,” NYTimes.com (2025)

…political echo chambers:

“A Top 'Washington Post' Columnist Resigns, Accusing Publisher of Killing Piece,” NPR.org (2025)

“The SAVE Act Would Disenfranchise Millions of Citizens,” AmericanProgress.com (2025)

“How Democratic Gen Z Activists Lost the Gen Z Vote,” vox.com (2025)

“Your Home Without China,” NYTimes.com (2025)

...politics on screen:

“The New ‘Deep State’ Television,” slate.com (2025)

“The Sudden Weirdness of TV Presidents,” NYTimes.com (2025)

“Chris Evans’ Captain America Wasn’t Expected to Save Us. So Why Is Anthony Mackie’s?” HollywoodReporter.com (2025)

“The New Captain America Movie Isn’t Great. But Don’t Call Him a D.E.I. Hire,” NYTimes.com (2025)

…pop culture, including The Muppets—you’re welcome:

“Netflix Is Gobbling Up World Literature. What Could Go Wrong?” NYTimes.com (2025)

“What Is Recession Pop? Why Kesha's New Single Heralds Return of Late-2000s Jams,” USAToday.com (2025)

“The Marketing Hurricane of Wicked Says a Lot About Our Culture,” NYTimes.com (2024)

“The Movies We’ve Loved Since 2000,” NYTimes.com (2025)

“Lively vs. Baldoni Has Already ‘Changed Hollywood Publicity Forever,’” HollywoodReporter.com (2025)

“Why Hollywood Feuds Aren’t What They Used to Be,” HollywoodReporter.com (2025)

"How to Finally Divorce Your Toxic Sports Team,” GQ.com (2025)

“Charles Grodin Finally Reveals His Brief Tryst With Miss Piggy,” vulture.com (2011)

MORE APRIL + MAY CRITIC PICKS // The West Wing Weekly podcast convinced me to check out Bulworth (1998), and I don’t think I can add anything more to their insightful discussion // Okay, JFK (1991), you convinced me Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t the only shooter // Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951) would make a great double feature with Challengers // Journey for Margaret (1942) and Bright Star (2009) have joined the long (and embarrassing) list of movies I remember crying in // I know why Children of Men (2006) and Melancholia (2011) are on the Big Picture podcast’s list of the Best Movies of the Century // Dorothy Dandridge has “it” in Carmen Jones (1954) // I’ve now seen all of Nora Ephron’s writing/directing credits, and Silkwood (1983) is another great character study of a real life heroine // Cool Hand Luke (1967) has that ‘60s vibe // Phantom Thread (2017) gives new meaning to the idea of getting high on ‘shrooms // Little Miss Sunshine (2006) is slight but sweet // Cinema Paradiso (1988) is nostalgic and even sweeter

Also in April + May…

I’m as shocked as you are Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning didn’t make my top 10 Round Up, but the heavy exposition weighed down its specular stunts. Read the full review I tag-teamed on with Jim Tudor for ZekeFilm.

Can something be deeply stupid if it knows it? Another Simple Favor made me wonder. ZekeFilm review

Friendship has some chuckles in store for everyone, but it’s more descriptive than informative. ZekeFilm review

The 20th anniversary of Pride & Prejudice gave me an excuse to rave about one of my all-time favorites. KMOV segment

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life would’ve been even more aptly titled Bridget Jones Wrecked My Life. ZekeFilm review

On KTRS’s The Carney Show, I reviewed the romantic drama On Swift Horses, which is…one of the worst new movies I’ve seen this year. Listen to my review, plus another plug for Novocaine.

On KTRS’s Max on Movies, I helped Max introduce a variety of interviews with Gilmore Girls actors he’d never aired before with tons of Gilmore discussion and fun facts. Listen to the feature.

#Round Up #A Working Man #The Amateur #The Accountant 2 #Thunderbolts*#SNL #Everybody's Live With John Mulaney #Saturday Night Live #Karate Kid: Legends #Warfare #Slouching Towards Bethlehem #Joan Didion #St. Louis Art Museum #The Phoenecian Scheme #Good Reads #Youtube

round up // MARCH 25

A third Round Up in a row with two book recommendations? New York and LA in one month? If it were for all these action, rom-com, and Turner Classic Movies recommendations, I’d ask, who am I?

March feels like the true kick-off of the new year at the movies with the exit from Dumpuary and the Oscars nailing the coffin on last year. Though the box office has been slow, there have been a handful of bright spots to recommend from this month, plus a fun Oscars telecast no one seems to have major gripes about. (Little gripes? Don’t worry—you can find them if you want them.) For me, though, March highlights were visits to both the coasts, including my own visit to the Dolby Theatre. Here’s hoping my April Round Up will have more new releases to feature than this one!

March Crowd-Pleasers

1. Novocaine (2025)

With his giant grin, Jack Quaid doesn't just unite his parents’ best features—he’s also got an excellent countenance for comedy. He brings the heart and much of the comedy to this high-concept action-adventure which finds creative (and squeamish) ways to dream up all the pain you can’t inflict on his nice guy protagonist. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. Mayhem by Lady Gaga (2025)

As I said upon the release of 2020's Chromatica, my favorite Lady Gaga modes are A Star Is Born/Joanne singer/songwriter and Love For Sale jazzy standards crooner, but are her pop jams becoming a new close third? Like that pandemic album, Mayhem reminds me more of ‘80s synth pop than what's on pop radio today or on her early pop records. Anything inspired by peak Madonna, Flock of Seagulls, and Depeche Mode is a win for me!

3. One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin (2024)

Academic Rob and struggling novelist Natalie meet as the Maid of Honor and Best Man for their best friends’ union, but like in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pride and Prejudice, and When Harry Met Sally…, it takes some time for them to realize they might be a great match for more than wedding planning. Funny and swoon-worthy, this is a new oops-I-stayed-up-way-past-my-bedtime classic.

4. The Six Triple Eight (2024)

What this true World War II story lacks in subtlety it makes up for in its attention to detail. When the U.S. Army’s only Black women’s battalion is assigned to deliver 17 million pieces of mail in 6 months across Europe and back home, the task seems impossible. I’m sure you know, though, that since this movie was made, it means they accomplished something remarkable. To the man sitting next to me on that flight out of New York: Yes, I was covering my face because I was crying watching this on my iPad. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

5. The Gorge (2025)

From the studio that brought you Best Picture winner CODA, Martin Scorsese's possible swan song Killers of the Flower Moon, and—most relevantly—Argylle comes a film greater than all of them put together! Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller co-star in a spy flick/rom-com/action-adventure/horror story/conspiracy thriller so bonkers it’s perfect. Ideally this would've come out in 2004, flopped at the box office, and then become a TNT classic made for stopping on when flipping through cable in a hotel. Is this good? No. But with tone changes every 20 minutes, it’s never boring and often surprising. The less you know beforehand the better! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6/10

MORE MARCH CROWD-PLEASERS // Though Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music by Rob Sheffield (2024) veers too often into personal anecdotes, the analysis of how she fits into the history of popular music is what you hope for from a Rolling Stone writer // The low-budget high school noir Brick (2005) proves Rian Johnson has always had it // No one will get as much pleasure out of this show as my dad, but I also had fun in Reacher Season 3 // I will watch as many mopey, indie soundtracked romances à la Like Crazy (2011) you will give me

March Critic Picks

1. The 97th Academy Awards

Though I was cooler on Conan O’Brien as a host, this year’s Oscars was about as solid as a show you could hope for without an “I’m Just Ken” performance. Until someone makes a compilation of all the good-natured jokes at Timothée Chalamet’s expense, here’s a round up of my favorite moments of the night:

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Wicked/The Wiz/The Wizard of Oz Mash-Up Opening Performance

John Lithgow is disappointed by your long speeches

Kieran Culkin wins Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain

Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn present Best Animated Awards

Bowen Yang dresses the part for the Best Costume Design award

Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler’s brief reunion and her presentation of the Best Screenplay awards

Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb (or is it Bill Skarsgård?) presenting Best Makeup

Ben Stiller tries to keep his head on stage while presenting Best Production Design

Firefighters deliver the biggest burns of the night

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan present Best Picture

2. Double Feature - Steven Soderbergh 2025 Features: Presence + Black Bag

Steven Soderbergh has been making great films in 100 minutes or less since 1989, and the found footage ghost story Presence (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) and suave spy thriller Black Bag (9/10 // 8/10) are two more in his canon. Read my full review of Black Bag for ZekeFilm.

3. The Last Five Years on Broadway

I could also just say, “Broadway!” On a recent work trip, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see my first Broadway show, and you know I can’t say no to a Jo Bro. Nick Jonas co-stars in the two-hander musical with Adrienne Warren and her amazing pipes. Though I don’t think this show is an all-timer for me, the criss-cross timeline structure is a fascinating structure, even if it reduces the opportunity for duets, which is the musical highlight of the show. Given its intimate scale, I doubt this show will ever tour, which is the experience worth of a trip halfway across the country.

4. The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)

Barbara Stanwyck adds yet another title to my Letterboxd list “’40s Gals Just Trying to Live Their Best Lives BUT SOCIETY.” In a thriller that would’ve fit nicely with my Gothic Movies marathon a few years ago, Stanwyck thinks her troubles disappeared when she marries wealthy artist Humphrey Bogart, but will his secrets tear them apart? Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10

5. TCM’s Falling in Love at the Movies: Rom-Coms from the Screwball Era to Today by Esther Zuckerman (2024)

In a surprise to exactly zero people, I’m almost certain I’ve seen more of the movies mentioned in this Turner Classic Movies Volume than any other at first read. (While Zuckerman mentions fewer titles than some books in the TCM library, I’m not sneezing at my seeing 70% of the 240+ films she name checks. #NerdAlert) But the book isn’t just a list of titles—it’s an insightful analysis of archetypes like the High-Maintenance Woman and the Man in Crisis, as well as motifs like the meet-cute and deception. As always with titles under the TCM banner, there’s great insight into how the films of yesteryear inspire today’s titles and how themes and characters have changed over time.

MORE MARCH CRITIC PICKS // Bewitched by Laufey (2023) reveals a ‘50s/‘60s crooner stuck inside a Gen Z body // June Bride (1948) captures many of the highs of the archetypes explored in the Zuckerman’s TCM book // Though the film didn’t hit all the marks for me, the All We Imagine as Light (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Topshe (2024) does // On her debut album, LaVern Baker (1957) captures some of my favorite sounds of the decade

Round Up Recap // Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Étoile: The Amy Sherman-Palladino Multiverse Panel at PaleyFest

Apparently the only thing that I need to convince me to head to the West Coast is Amy Sherman-Palladino! Two years ago I swung by the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard to catch her, Rachel Brosnahan, and Alex Borstein on a panel to discuss the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. My SO IT’S SHOW? co-host Kyla and I returned to see those three ladies along with more stars of the Sherman-Palladino Multiverse, including Gilmore Girls stars Lauren Graham and Kelly Bishop. Amy and husband Daniel Palladino continue to be some of the wittiest people alive, and the joy everyone on stage felt in each other’s company radiated to the very last row of the balcony where we were seated. Seeing all of them together and getting a preview of the Palladinos’ new series Étoile? That’s worth a 36-hour trip to Los Angeles!

Photo credits: Lady Gaga, One-Star Romance, The Last Five Years, Falling in Love at the Movies. PaleyFest my own. All others IMDb.com.

round up // FEBRUARY 25

Somebody has to say it: The most garbage time of the year in the Midwest lasts from the second week of January through the third week of March. Give or take a few days, this cold, gray purgatory makes every house a competitor for ugliest on the block with their bare trees and chaff lawns. November and December at least provide twinkly lights, gifts, and some of the best meals of the year; the start of the year, however, is peppered with low-key, sporadic holidays known for heart-shaped chalk. Thank goodness for indoor activities like romantic comedy marathons, digging into the TBR pile, and celebrating the only holidays we can count on: Galentine’s and Adam Drivertine’s.

The indoor season is also a great excuse to rewatch a favorite TV show, which is the inspiration for a new segment: Round Up Recap. Typically this Round Up only focuses on new-to-me pop culture, but every once in awhile something I've experienced before but I’ve never written about stands out to me in a new way. For the first edition of this quick Recap segment, I’m revisiting LOST for the first time since its finale 15 years ago. Spoiler alert: It’s as great as I remember. We still have a few weeks of garbage weather ahead of us—maybe it (or one of the other warm locales on this list) is just the tropical getaway you need to survive.

February Crowd-Pleasers

1. Paddington in Peru (2025)

It wouldn’t have been surprising if there had been too much time or change to recapture the magic, but there’s something about Ben Whishaw’s mansuete expression and something about Paddington's eyes that reminds me too much of the family dog to complain. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

2. Double Feature - Diane Keaton Leads a Trio of Funny Ladies: First Wives Club (1996) + Hanging Up (2000)

Diane Keaton with Lisa Kudrow and Meg Ryan? Or Diane Keaton with Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler? Why not both? In First Wives Club (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10), Hawn, Keaton, and Midler team up for revenge on the husbands who left them for younger women. In Hanging Up (8/10 // 7/10, continuing my 2025 Nora Ephron project), Keaton, Kudrow, and Ryan reunite to work through their issues at their father’s (Walter Matthau) deathbed. Let’s get Diane Keaton leading another trio again STAT!

3. SNL 50

Did you have any doubt this would make my list? It’s the closest thing to a high school reunion I’ve ever felt the need to attend, and it’s confirmation I want to continue digging into the earlier years of the show to understand how American culture has evolved in the last five decades. These were my highlights:

“Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter: Homeward Bound” - A collab I never knew I needed!

“50th Monologue” - Steve Martin has been one of the funniest people alive for 50 years—how??

“Physical Comedy” - These montages were a great glue to hold this nostalgia fest together

“Audience Q&A” - Sue me, I thought that Ryan Reynolds joke was funny

“New York 50th Musical” - Adam Driver as a hot dog! Adam Driver as a hot dog!

“Bronx Beat” - The return of sweatah weathah!

“Weekend Update: Bill Murray Ranks His Best Weekend Update Anchors of All Time” - Is it my new dream to be roasted by Bill Murray?

“Weekend Update: The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With and Drunk Uncle” - The second collab I never knew I needed!

“50th Anniversary Goodnights” - Since I’m a weirdo and this is one of my favorite parts of every episode, this felt like a super-sized warm hug

4. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025)

My sobbing through the last 45 minutes of the fourth Bridget Jones movie says more about me than it does about the fourth Bridget Jones movie, but it also doesn't say nothing about the fourth Bridget Jones movie. A quick scroll through this blog will reveal I’m a newer fan of Bridget’s clumsy mishaps and romantic tribulations, and I didn’t need years of nostalgia to fuel my emotional journey through her grief. Hugh Grant returns as a scene-stealer, and one of the biggest lessons here is Chiwetel Ejiofor should be in more rom-coms. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

5. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

As one of the biggest fans of You’ve Got Mail fans I’ve ever met, why did I wait so long to watch Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s first team up? When terminally ill Joe decides to go out with a literal bang by jumping into a volcano, he encounters more obstacles than you’d think. Though he’s still no stranger to SNL, I’d love to see Tom Hanks tackle another kooky comedy like this again, and heck, I’d just love to see Meg Ryan regularly working again (even if not in three roles in the same feature). Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

MORE FEBRUARY CROWD-PLEASERS // Back in Action (2025) is an above-average Netflix family action flick // Last Breath (2025) is a tight thriller that knows how to use its star power to find heart in a procedural docudrama

February Critic Picks

1. Paterson (2016)

This year’s Adam Drivertine’s selection! For the few of you unaware of this annual event, this is the holiday my friend Bailey and I invented to celebrate the works and career of Adam Driver. (Read more on the history of this holiday on Letterboxd.) Because he’s a GOAT in the making, this is a movie about a bus driver poet with a rascally dog and a quirky wife and chance encounters that he pulls together with another magnetic performance. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. I’m Still Here (2024)

Of this year’s ten Best Picture nominees, I’m Still Here may be the most traditional Oscar bait. At its best, it explicates a chapter in time without making it feel like a trawl. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

I also stopped by KMOV to give an overview of the Best Picture nominees this month, including I'm Still Here. Watch the segment.

3. The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor (2018)

I’m not drawn to self-help books, but the science around happiness and joy is fascinating. (See also: Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee.) Anyone who takes the time to demonstrate that rest is meaningful, a healthy work-life balance produces better work, and treating people well has tangible benefits, well, that’s an MVP. This was assigned reading at the office that ended up feeling like a gift.

4. Andromeda by Therese Bohman (2025)

Sofie and Gunnar are technically nothing more than co-workers, but their mutual understanding in spite of a generational gap is rare. There’s little in the way of plot—it’s more a mood of Sehnsucht. Bohman’s dreamy prose made for a quick read I couldn’t put down.

5. Gone Girl (2014)

Much of this thriller was spoiled for me in the last decade—that didn't matter a bit. Rosamund Pike’s performance lives up to the hype, and neither its twists nor its exploration of women’s stereotypes have aged a bit. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

MORE FEBRUARY CRITIC PICKS // Matchstick Men (2003) may not be Ridley Scott’s claim-to-fame, but it’s another reminder of his steady hand as a director // On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2025) lets newcomer Susan Chardy develop an excellent, restrained lead performance in 90 minutes

Round Up Recap // LOST

I told myself when LOST wrapped up in 2010 that I should wait to rewatch it until I couldn’t remember most of the plot. Thank you Past Me! Though the special effects have aged like you’d expect from turn-of-the-Millennium television, this plane crash survivor drama is as great as I remembered. Some of the best episodes feel like reading great literature, and the episode “Greatest Hits” wrecked me as badly as it did in 2007. You might say this series ruined me as a teenager—it led me to believe most adults are interested in growth, maturity, and 17th century philosophers, all three of which I’ve discovered are quite lacking in many of us. The first four seasons are about as perfect an action-adventure series as you could hope for on network TV (with a 20-plus-episode order, no less); the last two seasons with a sci-fi bent may be uneven as they try to tie up dozens of loose threads, but the highs are just as high. I doubt I’ll be able to wait 15 years to watch it again—I’m missing Sayid, Hurley, Charlie, Claire, Sawyer, Juliet, and even Jack and Kate already.

Also in February…

I also rounded up my voting for the St. Louis Film Critics Association Best of 2024. If you're on the home page, just keep scrolling, or read it all here.

I stopped by KMOV to review Paddington in Peru as well as Captain America: Brave New World. While I won’t defend it as an all-time MCU great movie—you can see where it ranks in the MCU for me on Letterboxd—I wasn’t as disappointed by it as it seems most people were. Watch the full review.

We're finding out about two movies you may want to see this weekend!

Photo credits: Happiness Advantage, Andromeda. All other IMDb.com.

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