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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.

behind the scenes // ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS (2024)

I like to think voting in the St. Louis Film Critics Association has more Stilgar vibes than Feyd-Rautha vibes. Which is to say, more “As it is written!” and less “May thy knife chip and shatter!”

Though the 20-ish of us are all passionate about our favorite films, we haven’t resorted to knife duels to the death to determine winners (yet). This is my third year voting, and this is the largest batch of nominees yet. In 2022 we nominated 43 films in 23 categories, in 2023 we nominated 44 films in 24 categories, and this year, we nominated 53 films in 26 categories. Boy, I felt that increase. Though I had seen more new releases in 2024 than in previous years, there were still 28 titles I missed before my peers made them nominees. (And frankly, a few of them were barely on my radar, which highlights the varied marketing budgets available to different kinds of films.) I was able to squeeze 16 of them in the week between nominations and final voting, thus viewing the required 3-film minimum in every category except Horror. (The films I never got to: Alien: Romulus, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, Heretic, I Saw the TV Glow, The Last Showgirl, Late Night With the Devil, Longlegs, No Other Land, Queer, The Substance, Sugarcane, and Will & Harper. I did end up covering my eyes through much of The Substance after it was nominated for Best Picture, though!)

In the past, I’ve described our voting process and my ballot strategy. Little has changed since my 2022 and 2023 ballot round ups, so this year I’m keeping a pretty tight focus on the films themselves. As it is written: May thy watchlist grow ever longer!

Best Technical(-ish) Awards

Because these categories are so specific and varied, this is the time to let personal favorites shine or to acknowledge the merit in less-liked contenders. Re: the former, I wish Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (which achieved many stunts practically) and Fly Me to the Moon (which sported an impressive wardrobe) had earned more attention for their efforts. Re: the latter, I couldn’t deny the Challengers score or the production design in The Brutalist even though those films didn’t work as a whole for me.

A few more thoughts:

I’m surprised Blitz and Saturday Night didn’t make more of a splash this Awards Season

It was a lackluster year for soundtracks. Even though I listened to Mean Girls and This Is Me…Now more than once on my own time, I was surprised I couldn't think of anything to surpass them on my list

Say what you will about Megalopolis, but I was never once bored! Even with a bonkers final product, Francis Ford Coppola is a master craftsman

Best Genre(-ish) Awards

These are the categories that inspire most of my frantic binge-watching between nominations and final voting. Of the 16 titles I watched in that week, 8 were in these categories, as were 9 of the 12 films I never found time for. (As always, I couldn’t vote in the Horror category because nothing inspires me to watch the minimum three films needed to vote.) Some of this is a matter of taste: I’m not drawn to documentaries in my free time, and though I did watch more than four last year, I didn’t think they deserved nominations. (Piece by Piece featured great animation, but it revealed nothing new about Pharrell). Some of this is because of the weak marketing for international films before the thick of Awards Season: I don’t remember hearing much, if anything, about Do Not Expect… before my peers nominated it, and I struggled to find a way to watch Dahomey.

A few more thoughts:

You shouldn’t be surprised if you know anything about me that I had already seen all the Action and Comedy nominees before nominations were announced

I overestimated the reputation of Gladiator II and Rebel Ridge among my peers, and I underestimated their love for Deadpool & Wolverine and Hundreds of Beavers

Let the record show I was underwhelmed by Emilia Pérez as far back as December

My final vote for Best Comedy was one of my toughest picks. I almost voted for Saturday Night (which made me laugh more), but I ultimately selected the sharper script of A Real Pain

My major discovery in the week between nominations and final voting was The Seed of Sacred Fig, which ending up making my top 10 of the year

Best Performance Awards

Here’s where my love for my top 10 films of the year—okay, and the Minions—shows. I wish performances like Josh Hartnett’s in Trap had a shot in the dark during Awards Season, and I’m baffled at the lack of campaigning for Javier Bardem in Dune: Part Two. While I’m not surprised, I hate that the Academy slept on The Bikeriders and Civil War in multiple categories.

You'll also notice the first of our two new categories this year: Best Voice Performance. I doubt our nominations will overlap so much in the future, but there were a lot of fans of Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot for its inaugural event.

A few more thoughts:

Hard Truths was one of those barely-on-my-radar movies, but Marianne Jean-Baptiste wowed me so much she earned one of my few final votes outside my original batch of nominations

Like Soundtrack, Supporting Actress was a category I struggled to come up with strong candidates for, but Jennifer Lopez came through for me yet again. While I loved Nickel Boys, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor’s role was very supporting

Best of the Best Awards

Will Anora, The Brutalist, and A Complete Unknown stand the test of time? The consensus of this moment suggests so, though anyone who has followed Awards Season knows pop culture’s short memory. (I’m publishing this before Oscar night—it’s possible I’ll eat these words in just a few days.) You can tell from the small overlap between my top 10 and our cumulative top 10 that my taste varied from the consensus, but if I’d seen The Seed of the Sacred Fig sooner, it would’ve bumped Twisters off my list.

A few more thoughts:

Our second new category for 2024 was Best First Feature, which along with Best Scene, added five unique nominees

That Civil War scene feels like THE scene of 2024

My affection for Nickel Boys has only grown as Awards Season has continued

More of the Best of 2024

Check out more on the St. Louis Film Critics Association site

See the full list of our picks on Letterboxd

Read my personal list of the best films of the year

And add those films to your watchlist on Letterboxd

#Best of 2024 #St. Louis Film Critics Association #SLFCA #Dune: Part Two #Nickel Boys #Saturday Night #Conclave #Civil War #Sing Sing #A Real Pain #The Piano Lesson #Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga #Inside Out 2 #The Seed of the Sacred Fig #Hard Truths #Wicked #Wicked: Part One #The Fall Guy #2024

round up // DECEMBER 24 + JANUARY 25: CROWD vs. CRITIC vs. CHRISTMAS!

Well, that’s a wrap…on 2024, and on SO IT’S A SHOW!

After 8 years and 7 seasons filled with 200-ish pop culture references, Kyla and I celebrated our love for Gilmore Girls with one last pop culture reference and a lap down memory lane. Though it’s a bittersweet goodbye (unless, you know, Gilmore Girls returns with another revival season), I'm grateful for every minute we podcasted together. And the best way to keep from crying because it's over? Laugh because you're watching His Girl Friday! Listen to our final episode (or, you know, our whole series) on Spotify, Apple, or any other podcast platform. You can also browse our episode history on our Tumblr.

Though that was the biggest pop culture moment for me this winter, it wasn’t the only memorable one. Between discovering new holiday favorites to finally getting to watch some of the best films of 2024, there was so much to recommend I had to revisit the same format I used in 2020 and 2023: Crowd vs. Critic vs. Christmas! In addition to my top five Crowd-Pleasers and Critic Picks, I rounded up five Christmas Treats that may become annual traditions. But if holiday recommendations coming after Groundhog Day feels too weird for you, don’t miss my top film picks of 2024, many of which we’ll be discussing through the Oscars next month.

December + January Crowd-Pleasers

1. Double Binge - Old People Solving Crimes: Only Murders in the Building Season 4 + A Man on the Inside (2024)

Only Murders in the Building isn’t slowing down on the jokes four seasons in, and that's helping green light projects like Ted Danson’s new Netflix sitcom. In a perfect world, his private detective activities in a nursing home would be 22-episode series order with holiday storylines, bottle episodes, and inconsequential subplots, but I’m grateful for any opportunities for legends like Danson and Mike Schur to make television.

2. Moana 2 (2024)

While it’s not as polished as Moana, this sequel is a lot of fun. Watch my review for KMOV. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

3. Behind the Screens by Inaki Aliste Lizarralde with Neal E. Fischer (2023)

This illustrated coffee table book imagines detailed floor plans of your favorite TV sets, including Friends, Gilmore Girls, The Golden Girls, and Mary Tyler Moore. A perfect housewarming gift!

4. SNL Round Up

Before SNL 50, catch up on these sketches…

"Gladiator II: The Musical" (5008 with Paul Mescal) - This is a smidge saucier than I prefer, but the concept is perfection

"Mall Santas" (5009 with Chris Rock)

"Weekend Update: A Bald Man on a U.K. Court Harassment Ruling" (5009)

"Five-Timers Club Cold Open" (5010 with Martin Short)

"Stand-Up Monologue" (5011 with Dave Chappelle)

"Immigrant Dad Talk Show 2" (5011)

“Monologue” (5012 with Timothée Chalamet)

"Weekend Update: Andrew Dismukes and His Puppet Dad on Crazy Families” (5012)

5. You’re Cordially Invited (2025)

Speaking of SNL, Will Ferrell is still one of the funniest people alive, and that’s still on display in this new family-focused rom-com on Prime with Reese Witherspoon. Catch my review on KMOV. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

December + January Critic Picks

1. Best of 2024

In 2024, the films that aligned with my taste tended to orbit the same questions. What does justice look like? How do we navigate generational conflict? And can institutions be saved in spite of their flawed systems? I’m drawn to stories with a clear point of view and characters who make strong choices, but I have little interest in preaching or provocation for its own merit. There were certainly more than 10 films that reflected those qualifications, so alongside each of my top 10 films, I’m recommending an honorable mention for a double feature. Read all of my picks for 2024 at ZekeFilm.

2. An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis (1961)

Lewis’s book pulled together many of the ideas I had on my mind as I was writing my Best of 2024 piece. Though keeping up with his many dense literary references kept me on my toes, I’m grateful this 20th century thought leader took his time to walk us through how he assessed art.

3. The Good Half (2024)

Stories about mopey writers + Nick Jonas = a very specific Venn diagram of my interests. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10

4. Blitz (2024)

I’m surprised this Steve McQueen World War II bildungsroman didn’t make more of an Awards Season splash given its tight script and high production values. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

5. Double Feature - Written by Nora Ephron: Heartburn (1986) + My Blue Heaven (1990)

In 2025 I am working way through the films Nora Ephron wrote and/or directed I've missed, and this double feature was a great way to kick the project off. Heartburn (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10) recounts Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson’s marriage of cynical writers from pasta-seduction-meet-cute to fixer-upper-house-turned-possible-homewrecker. My Blue Heaven (8.5/10 // 7/10) forces a cartoonish mobster (Steve Martin) into witness protection, but it may be the mild-mannered agent (Rick Moranis) protecting him and small town he’s hiding in at greater risk because of his antics.

MORE WINTER CRITIC PICKS // To its credit, I was never once bored in Megalopolis (2024)! // Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024) is moving celebrity documentary even if you don’t have a deep connection with Reeve // I will never watch The Substance (2024) again because, frankly, I just can’t hack the needles and body horror, but its insight into how women’s bodies are discussed and viewed has stayed with me

Christmas Treats

1. Ski Party (1965)

Is Frankie Avalon’s cross-dressing holiday the silliest of all the snowy films I watched this year? Definitely, but it’s hard to complain when James Brown makes a musical cameo. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 6/10

2. By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)

This early Doris Day role brings the Meet Me in St. Louis vibes. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

3. Holiday Seasoning by Jimmy Fallon (2024)

The radio-safe hits are pretty standard, but I would take a whole album of comedy duets like “Hallmark Movie” (with Cara Delevigne), “One Glove” (with Will Ferrell), and “New Year’s Eve Polka” (with “Weird Al” Yankovic).

4. Hot Frosty (2024)

This silly Netflix rom-com is a pretty perfect execution of a Hallmark movie for people who don’t like Hallmark movies. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 6/10

5. Do You LIke Apples Christmas Movie Draft

I stopped by the Do You Like Apples podcast to discuss and draft our all-time favorite Christmas movies. While the voting for the best lineup has closed, I think we all know who won… Listen to the episode.

Also in December + January…

I took a deeper dive into a film I recommended in my November 2024 Round Up, Nickel Boys. Though the Academy has shown plenty of love toward films focusing on the mid-century struggle against Jim Crow (even awarding one Best Picture), Nickel Boys looks and feels nothing like them. Read my full review for ZekeFilm.

I'm updating my watchlist in real time on Letterboxd, where you can find a full lineup of everything I watched to celebrate the Christmas season from November to January.

Photo credits: Behind the Screens, C.S. Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Do You Like Apples. All others IMDb.com.

round up // NOVEMBER 24

Fair warning: November was a lot for me, which is why yet another Round Up is coming at least a full week into the next month. My go-to answer to “How are you?” has become, “I’m hanging in there!” With three weekends out of town, two funerals, and one more election that disappointed me in the deepest of ways, I’m back to a season when the lyrics to “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” feel like Taylor Swift has ripped out that broken heart and reset it to melody.

I know that’s a less pleasant answer than you hoped for when you asked how I was, so perhaps you’ll be relieved to hear only one of my pop culture top 10 this month made me cry. Between Glicked weekend, Awards Season powering ahead full steam, and the Eras Tour (finally!), there was plenty to look forward to and get a respite from the heavy stuff.

November Crowd-Pleasers

1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

After 16 years of listening, 11 albums (depending on how you count), 2 previous tours, and countless attempts to get tickets to previous shows, I finally made it to the Eras Tour! As I noted in my review of the filmed concert last fall, my deep wish is for an up close, intimate show from an artist who has inspired me for so long, and would’t you know it? Sharing her attention with 70,000 other people is a certified way to remind you that will never happen. But it’s a bittersweet reality check to scream the “Cruel Summer” bridge at the top of your lungs in a crowd of friendly people as enthusiastic as you are. Seeing The Tortured Poets Department live brought it to life in a new way I hadn’t imagined, hearing "marjorie" live became a grief processing moment, and I’ve decided I need to find more excuses to wear sequins. Until I find another excuse, I’ll be flipping through The Eras Tour Book on my coffee table.

2. SNL Round Up

D-O-M-I-N-G-O! If you don’t want to get him stuck in your head, maybe don’t enjoy Marcello Hernández’s most memorable character yet in clips from SNL or from Sabrina Carpenter’s show. But if you don’t mind a catchy tune bringing a a smile to your face at random times during the day (or cathartic laughter to get through election season), don’t skip these:

“2024 Pre-Election Cold Open” (5005 with John Mulaney)

“Stand-Up Monologue” (5005)

“What’s That Name: Election Edition” (5005)

“Port Authority Duane Reade” (5005)

“Weekend Update: The Couple You Can't Believe Are Together” (5005)

“Little Richard” (5005)

“Beppo” (5005)

“New York City Council Campaign” (5005)

“SNL for Trump Cold Open” (5006 with Bill Burr)

“Stand-up Monologue”

“Calling Dad” (5006)

“Babymoon” (5007 with Charli xcx)

3. Wicked: Part One (2024)

Wicked: Part One is the spectacle you’d hope from a smash musical. Sequins! Vocal runs! Large-scale choreography! Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are excellent successors to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, hitting goosebump-worthy notes and harmonies. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

4. Gladiator II (2024)

Like 2000’s Best Picture winner, Gladiator II is both brutal and exhilarating, but its boldest stroke is finding ways to surprise us after decades of cable viewings of the original. And is any director as great at creating battle sequences than Sir Ridley Scott? Read my full review for ZekeFilm and watch my Glicked weekend reviews for KMOV. Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 9/10

'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' are out now in theaters.

5. Music by John Williams (2024)

Because sometimes it’s nice to just watch a documentary that can be summed up as, “A nice man is really talented!” Any opportunity to give a genius like John Williams to pontificate on his work is an excellent use of time and film. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

MORE NOVEMBER CROWD-PLEASERS // The Peter Pan National Tour finds fun and surprising ways to freshen up the classic story for the stage // The Fire Inside (2024) is an easy recommendation for any sports movie fan // Nightbitch (2024) finds a new (and humorous) angle on motherhood for mainstream movies // The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat (2024) is for the Mystic Pizza girlies

November Critic Picks

1. The Apprentice (2024)

I feared this would be a self-righteous diatribe, but instead it feels like watching The Godfather Part II or Attack of the Clones. The miracle is you don’t have to have see anything else in the franchise for this to feel like its own holistic work thanks to fully realized performances from Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong that never turn into caricature. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. A Real Pain (2024)

In one of 2024’s top awards contenders, Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin update Planes, Trains & Automobiles with more gravitas and some of the best performances of the year. Watch my full review on KMOV. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. The West Wing Weekly Political Film Fest

I was surprised to discover I’ve never recommended The West Wing Weekly podcast in a Round Up, but thanks to Hrishikesh Hirway and Joshua Malina’s new virtual film fest, I’m able to correct that oversight. The duo bring their trademark wit and political insight to their discussions of previous Round Up recommendations like Dave, Dr. Strangelove, A Face in the Crowd, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Network, as well as new-to-me worthwhile watches like The Candidate (1972).

4. Chicago National Tour

Because everybody’s doing choreography, but not as well as this show! Few stage shows inspire so much thought about bodily movement (individually and corporately), justice, and the American dream. The songs really are all that jazz and a bag of chips, too.

5. Good Reads

What I’ve been reading about lately includes…

…pop culture (duh):

“Twisters Press Tour Measured F-5 on the Brisket Scale,” vulture.com (2024)

“The 100 Greatest Westerns of All Time,” IndieWire.com (2024)

“The 'Absurd' Real-Life Sting Operation That Inspired a Movie,” BBC.com (2024)

“Charli XCX and Lorde’s Conflict Resolution is the Year’s Most Powerful Pop Moment,” TheGuardian.com (2024)

“The Growing Gender Divide, Three Minutes at a Time,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

“Fall Is for Gilmore Girls: The Data Says So, and Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino Agrees,” HollywoodReporter.com (2024)

…work:

“Comedian John Mulaney Brutally Roasts SF Techies at Dreamforce,” SFStandard.com (2024)

“Night Owls’ Cognitive Function ‘Superior’ to Early Risers, Study Suggests,” TheGuardian.com (2024)

“CEOs Made Nearly 200 Times What Their Workers Got Paid Last Year,” APNews.com (2024)

“The Right to Disconnect Has Started, Giving Australians Legal Cover to Stop Responding to Emails and Calls After Hours,” ABC.net.au (2024)

…money:

“Housing Experts Say There Just Aren't Enough Homes in the U.S.,” NPR.org (2024)

“Owning a House in the U.S. Is Now the Most Expensive Since 2007, New Report Finds,” TIME.com (2024)

“You'll Need More Than $100,000 in Income to Afford a Typical Home, Studies Show,” NPR.org (2024)

“How Gen Z Ended Up in So Much Debt,” bloomberg.com (2024)

…family:

“Couples Therapy, but for Siblings,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

“The Unspoken Grief of Never Becoming a Grandparent,” NYTimes.com (2024)

…fashion:

“The 30 Most Stylish People of the Last 30 Years,” InStyle.com (2024)

“What’s Going On With Pants? Everything, It Turns Out,” Vogue.com (2024)

“Is a $910 Fleece Actually Worth It?” NYTimes.com (2024)

…politics and the Internet:

“Drowning in Slop,” NYMag.com (2024)

“The Taylor Swift Way to Defuse a Troll,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

“Trump’s Evangelical Supporters Just Lost Their Best Excuse,” TheAtlantic.com (2024)

MORE NOVEMBER CRITIC PICKS // Nickel Boys (2024) is extraordinary and devastating // Martha (2024) revealed new layers to an icon I thought I knew // September 5 (2024) is a standout add to the journalism film canon // Kingdom of Heaven (2005) is a new-to-me add to the Christian film canon

Also in November…

You know I don’t wait to start start watching Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving. If you’re looking for recommendations, feel free to browse through my annual rewatches and new discoveries on Letterboxd.

Photo credits: Taylor Swift, West Wing Weekly, Chicago, Good Reads. All others IMDb.com.

round up // SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER 24

A few years ago, I rounded up September, October, and November together with a “Sad Girl Autumn” theme. Since I'm rounding up September and October more than halfway through November, I think you can guess this year's theme: “Busy Girl Autumn.”

Autumn is my busiest season at my 9 to 5 and as a film critic, and this year, I added moving on top of it followed by an international trip within a week. (All good things, all good things, but I can’t say I recommend it.) The bad news: That means I had less time to review for ZekeFilm or KMOV. The good news: Long plane rides are perfect for catching up on movies I’ve missed, SNL’s 50th season is off to a solid start, and Iceland’s landscapes live up to their reputation. So while my cuticles look ratchet, my basement is dedicated to unpacked boxes and unhung artwork, and a day with no activities sounds luxurious, cinema is still cinema, baby! These were the pop culture bright spots in these two months.

September + October Crowd-Pleasers

1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Still a gem, that Winona Ryder. Sure, it has at least one (if not three) too many plot lines, but when you’ve got Willem Dafoe hamming it up as a TV cop and Michael Keaton hamming it up as much as he ever did, it's hard not to have a good time. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

2. The Abyss (1989)

This was my one James Cameron oversight without “Piranha” in the title, and it wasn’t what I expected. As a late ‘80s release, I assumed it would be a dark, thrilling turn in the style of Aliens or the Terminator films. Instead, it’s a sentimental, thrilling adventure closer to Avatar or Spielberg’s alien films. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

3. SNL Season 50 Round Up

After lamenting an uneven season last year, it seems this relatively green cast has found its groove. These are the sketches I laughed at and shared most this fall:

“Harris and Trump Rallies Cold Open” (5001 with Jean Smart)

“Spirit Halloween” (5001)

“Weekend Update: Baby Hippo Moo Deng on Fame” (5001)

“Stand-Up Monologue” (5002 with Nate Bargatze)

“Washington's Dream 2” (5002)

“Sábado Gigante” (5002)

“Golf Tournament” (5002)

“Family Feud Election 2024 Cold Open” (5003 with Ariana Grande)

“Monologue” (5003)

“Bridesmaid Speech” (5003) - If I had a dime for every time I've sung, "At the Marriott, Googling Domingo..."

“Weekend Update: Monica a Happy Amazon Employee on Prime Day” (5003)

“Weekend Update: Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher on Oasis' Reunion Tour” (5003)

“Maybelline” (5003)

“Weekend Update: Sarah Sherman on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show” (5004 with Michael Keaton) - More crass than I usually prefer, but she captures a lot of my feelings about this event

“Horror Choreographer” (5004)

Keep scrolling for more Saturday Night love.

4. LaRoy, Texas (2024)

We (and that includes me) don’t appreciate Steve Zahn enough. This is the second movie I’ve watched this summer about a sad sack guy getting mistaken for a hit man, but this is the one that felt authentic to human emotion. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

5. It’s What’s Inside (2024)

The less you know about this Sundance hit before you watch it, the better. All you need to know this indie thriller is a twisty fun (and nightmarish) take a college reunion weekend. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

MORE SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER CROWD-PLEASERS // Knox Goes Away (2024) makes dementia the true assassin’s adversary in Michael Keaton’s second feature // Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) + Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) may not feel necessary, but I can never watch Colin Firth and and Hugh Grant’s pathetic fistfights too many times // I’m not sure The 355 (2022) is my dream team up for Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Diane Krueger, and Lupita N’yongo, but I’ll take it. Girls deserve junky spy thrillers, too! // OUCH by Honne (2024) is filled with the good vibes I’m looking for

September + October Critic Picks

1. Double Feature - Mid-Century Spy Thrillers Starring Butch and Sundance: Torn Curtain (1966) + Three Days of the Condor (1975)

How did I not know that Alfred Hitchcock directed Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, you jagweeds? The underseen Torn Curtain (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10) runs a smidge long, but it still has plenty of Hitchcock flair. I also love when I watch an older movie and accidentally stumble upon a skeleton key for some of my modern favorites (like Mission: Impossible and Bourne), which is what I discovered in Three Days of the Condor (8.5/10 // 8.5/10). Though Butch’s pal Robert Redford finds himself caught in a romance that hasn’t aged well with Faye Dunaway, he's also caught in a conspiracy I can’t resist.

2. The Dead Don’t Hurt (2024)

Westerns aren’t my jam, so anytime one captures me, I know it’s special. This revisionist Western takes an unusual (and fascinating) angle as Viggo Mortensen and Vicky Krieps’s romance is interrupted by the Civil War. Instead of the man-at-war-missing-his-home story (which we’ve seen so many times our minds can fill in the gaps) we watch the woman-abandoned-at-home-by-a-greater-cause story, which has consumed less of our cinematic history. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. Queen Christina (1933)

Greta Garbo is radiant as ever in this historical romance. When I turned this on, I did not expect to discover Princess Diaries 2 is a remake! Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

4. Saturday Night (2024)

If you’ve read any of these monthly Round Ups before, then you know I am the target audience for a film about the first episode of Saturday Night Live. What a treat that it doesn’t only capture the feeling of contained chaos the sketch comedy show is known for! With musings on the creative process within a for-profit environment and the clash of egos that runs the world of entertainment, it’s not just funny and, at times, crass—it’s thoughtful and thrilling filmmaking. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. Iceland!

Like my cousin Meredith, I’m not a big nature girl, which made my recent trip to Iceland unlike the list of museums my trip round ups usually become. Iceland is newer at the tourism game, and many of its museums feel like they’re still finding their footing. These were the ones that felt the best use of our time:

Perlan - an interactive museum focused on the natural wonders, wildlife, and geological history of Iceland

Hallgrimskirkja - A church with unique architecture in the heart of Reykjavik

Reykjavík Art Museum Kjarvalsstaðir - A small art museum largely focused on the works of landscape expert Jóhannes S. Kjarvals

The real highlights of the country are its natural wonders like:

The Golden Circle, including Gullfoss Falls (a giant, scenic waterfall), Þingvellir National Park (where the North American and European tectonic plates meet), and the Great Geysir (which is the origin of our word “geyser”)

The Northern Lights - We enjoyed a nighttime boat tour right outside Reykjavik with spectacular views

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon - An opportunity to get a closer look at a glacier and icebergs

Blue Lagoon - This may be a touristy spot, but this geothermal pool is a destination for a reason

Snæfellsnes Peninsula - A region of scenic mountains, volcanoes, and beaches

Don’t believe me? Just watch Batman Begins, Interstellar, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, or any other film made in Iceland to get an idea of its beauty.

MORE SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER CRITIC PICKS // I’m not a monster, so yeah, Philadelphia (1993) made me cry // Karma is the guy in the ring coming straight home to me in Cain and Mabel (1936) // The End We Start From (2024) certified my membership to the Jodie Comer Fan Club // I was relieved when it became clear I didn’t need to see Joker: Folie à Deux, but at least it gave us the great standards album Harlequin by Lady Gaga (2024) as well as a thought-provoking conversation on The Big Picture podcast about how we discuss film online // Just listen to Leon by Leon Bridges (2024)—you’ll thank me later

Also in September + October…

For ZekeFilm, I reviewed the new romance starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, We Live in Time, which was good but not as great as I hoped it would be.

I also reviewed Venom: The Last Dance for Zeke, which was…not even good.

Photo credits: Iceland my own. All others IMDb.com.

#Round Up #SNL #Saturday Night #Beetlejuice Beetlejuice #The Abyss #It's What's Inside #LaRoy Texas #Torn Curtain #Three Days of the Condor #Queen Christina #The Dead Don't Hurt #Iceland #Saturday Night Live #Youtube

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