September 16, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Austin Abrams, Johnno Wilson, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2026, Zach Cherry, Zach Cregger
Which one’s Resident and which one’s Evil? (CREDIT: Dušan Martinček/Columbia Pictures)
Starring: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Paul Walter Hauser, Johnno Wilson
Director: Zach Cregger
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rating: R for Monstrous Violence and the Profanity It Provokes
Release Date: September 18, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: A scrappy medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams) is ready to call it a night after getting through his shift of organ deliveries. But then he’s enticed by one more high-paying dropoff that will require traversing through snowy, mountainous terrain on his way to Raccoon City General hospital. It’s a dangerous enough journey during even the most ideal conditions. But it soon becomes clear that the conditions are pretty much the opposite of ideal, as Bryan encounters a series of infectious, mutated human beings (and a few animals). So he spends the rest of the night running for his life, while also doing his best to get that package to where it belongs, which might just be the key to ensuring that the entire world doesn’t start looking like Raccoon City.
What Made an Impression?: Oops, He Did It Again: This latest adaptation of Resident Evil is at its heart a slapstick adventure. But if you’re confused because you came here to be scared out of your boots, don’t fret! It’s possible to be hilarious without undercutting the terror, and director Zach Cregger nails that balancing act. That’s what happens when survival instincts team up with lack of experience, after all. Bryan has no idea how to make sense of this nightmare, but he undeniably wants to make it out alive. So sometimes, he successfully blasts away zombies, while other times he shoots his own car. Sometimes he lures zombies into splatting against each other, and other times he just falls over a fence. Abrams has the perfect jittery energy for all of this, and my theater just lapped it up.
What’s That Hiding Around the Corner?: When you direct a couple of the most acclaimed horror movies of the past few years, as Zach Cregger has, it creates certain expectations for your subsequent fright flicks. In Cregger’s case, more than anything else, it’s his knack for mid-act reveals that recontextualize everything that came before. That’s easier to pull off with an original screenplay than it is with a property with a decades-long cultural footprint like Resident Evil. But it’s not impossible! While there’s nothing quite as massively world-flipping here as there was in Barbarian and Weapons, there are plenty of smaller moments that had me gratefully cheering, “Hoo boy, I was not expecting that!” He’s quite the magician, this Cregger fellow, always orienting our attention where it needs to go for maximum effect.
Great Care Was Taken: The makeup crew and visual effects artists also deserve plenty of direct praise. I’ve never played any of the RE games, so I don’t know what percentage of their designs were recreations and how much were original. But I do know that it was all effective! Leonardo da Vinci would’ve been quite proud if he were alive today.
Give Yourself Time to Recover: This Resident Evil runs a brisk hour and a half, seemingly more or less in real time. You’ll be thrilled at all the chills and spills packed into that efficient duration, and grateful for the extra minutes to devote to the rest of your day. I recommend spending a chunk of it re-listening to Ryan and Hays Holladays’ score while mulling over what you’ve endured.
Resident Evil is Recommended If You Like: Screaming + Laughing + Cheering
Grade: 4 out of 5 Outbreaks
September 14, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alec Newman, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Avy Berry, Cameron Brady, Caspar Steinbeck, Dylan Page, Ethan Hawke, George Burgess, Jeffrey Lee Hallman, Julia Jones, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, Padraic McKinley, Peter Lewys Preston, Russell Crowe, Sam Hazeldine, The Weight
They put The Weight right on us (CREDIT: Vertical)
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, Sam Hazeldine, Jeffrey Lee Hallman, Dylan Page, Peter Lewys Preston, Caspar Steinbeck
Director: Padraic McKinley
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Rating: R for Language and Some Shockingly Intense Violence
Release Date: September 18, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) has found himself in a greatly depressing situation, which is appropriate given the setting of his movie, i.e. 1933 Oregon. After he and his young daughter Penny (Avy Berry) are evicted, a violent misunderstanding with the police leads to Murphy being arrested and placed in a hard labor camp. There’s a chance he can be released in a few months with good behavior, but that’s not soon enough to be reunited with his daughter before she’ll become a ward of the state. So the man in charge of the labor camp, Warden Clancy (Russell Crowe), offers him an out: he’ll sign the papers granting Murphy an even earlier release as long as Murphy does a certain favor for him. Specifically, he must assemble a small crew of his fellow convicts and transport gold bars to a designated dropoff point. It sure sounds dangerous, possibly even deadly, and probably not exactly legal. But Murphy never doubts that it’s his best hope to get Penny back in his arms.
What Made an Impression?: Surely There’s Got to Be a Better Way!: You know those rickety rope bridges hanging between cliffs that are just waiting to have their wooden planks scooched down into the abyss? I always assumed that they were invented for the Indiana Jones movies and their ilk, but maybe they are a real thing after all. The Weight would certainly like us to believe that they existed in the early 20th century Pacific Northwest wilderness, as there’s a marvelously tense set piece in which Murphy and his crew realize that the bridge they’re crossing is not going to hold the weight of a man and all the gold he’s lugging around in his backpack. So Murphy stands in the middle while someone on one end tosses him one bar at a time, and then he tosses each bar one at a time to the other end. Every little movement is a life-or-death proposition, doubly so. One false step could be the end for Murphy, and furthermore, Clancy has assured them that losing just one of the bars means they’ve failed the entire mission. It’s the movie’s entire dramatic tension captured in one white-knuckle sequence.
Flying Gracefully Forever: Ethan Hawke is one of those actors that I’ll see in basically anything. (That preference was solidified during his turn in 2010s genre flicks like The Purge and Sinister.) The Weight is just the latest evidence of the wisdom of that attitude. There’s one scene in particular when Hawke as Murphy figures out how to move a massive boulder off the road that makes it abundantly clear that we’re in the care of someone who knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s a perfect distillation of his team player instincts, as he makes everyone else in the ensemble exponentially better.
Never Comfortable Again: The Weight is a constantly damp movie, as the gold transporters must traverse multiple river crossings and occasionally sleep under unforgiving rainstorms. And it’s not like they brought any change of clothes for the journey. This isn’t exactly the sort of thing I’m in the mood for in September, as its overcast outlook threatens that the end of the month will give way to a perpetually cloudy autumn. It’s a well-made movie, for sure, but you just gotta make sure you’re equipped to handle that lack of sunshine.
The Weight is Recommended If You Like: Forrest hiking, Pre-seat belt era car chases, Climactic dealmaking
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Teddy Bears
September 14, 2026
jmunney
Awards Shows, Emmys, Television
2026 Emmys, 78th Emmys, 78th Primetime Emmys, DTF St. Louis, Emmy predictions, Emmys, The Pitt, Widow's Bay
What’s your Emmy mantra? (CREDIT: Television Academy/Screenshot)
It’s Emmy Monday!!! Since I am a hopeless devotee of the boob tube, I do indeed make sure to annually view the presentation of the Primetime Emmy Awards. And along with that viewing tradition, I also enjoy making predictions of the winners in the major categories, along with my selections of whom I would vote for if I were a member of the TV Academy.
Now, I haven’t watched every single nominated program, so in some cases, my preference might be for a nominee that I believe would give an entertaining acceptance speech, as opposed to necessarily who I thought was the best at making quality television in the past year.
Anyway, we’ll all find out together how it goes down when Mariska Hargitay emcees the ceremony on Monday, September 14 on NBC and Peacock.
More
September 11, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Dianne Wiest, Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Nicole Kidman, Practical Magic, Practical Magic 2, Sandra Bullock, Solly McLeod, Stockard Channing, Susanne Bier, Xolo Maridueña
Practical Door Knocking (CREDIT: Warner Bros./Screenshot)
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod
Director: Susanne Bier
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 11, 2026 (Theaters)
I had never seen the first Practical Magic by the time that I saw Practical Magic 2. And in fact, I still haven’t seen the original PM as of writing this review. Some might consider that rather impractical. That consideration makes me think of the prank series Impractical Jokers, which I’ve similarly never seen. So did Sandy Bullock and Nic Kidman’s supernatural shenanigans make me want to finally check out The Tenderloins pulling off their practical jokes? Well, to put it plainly: not at all. Has this all been a rather impractical way of reviewing this particular cinematic experience? I suppose it has. Anyway, I enjoyed Sandy bantering with Lee Pace a bit.
Grade: I Don’t Remember the ’90s
September 11, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Anatomy of a Brief Romance, Bloc Party, Creative Arts Emmys, Emmys, Jeopardy!, Ow ∞, Practical Magic 2, Runner, Saturday Night Live UK, SNL UK, South Park, Sylvan Esso, The Fix, The Floor, The Terrors of Jordan Mendoza, The Uprising
Terrifying Toby (CREDIT: Adult Swim/Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–The Fix (Theaters)
–Practical Magic 2 (Theaters) – I’ve never seen the first one.
–Runner (Theaters)
–The Uprising (Theaters)
TV
-Creative Arts Emmys (September 12 on FXX)
–Saturday Night Live UK Season 2 Premiere (September 12 on Sky One for UK Viewers, Peacock the Next Day for Yanks) – Jeff Goldblum and CMAT headline the premiere.
–The Floor Season 6 Premiere (September 13 on FOX)
–The Terrors of Jordan Mendoza (September 13 on Adult Swim) – I saw a commercial for this, and it looked pretty interesting.
–Jeopardy! Season 43 Premiere (Check local listings)
-78th Primetime Emmy Awards (September 14 on NBC) – Hosted by Mariska Hargitay.
–South Park Season 29 Premiere (September 16 on Comedy Central)
Music
-Bloc Party, Anatomy of a Brief Romance
-Sylvan Esso, Ow ∞
September 10, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews, Television
Bill Corbett, Cambot, Crow, Kevin Murphy, Mary Jo Pehl, Michael J. Nelson, Mike Nelson, MST3K, MST3K: The Rifftrax Experiments, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Rifftrax, Sting of Death, Tom Servo
Stings So Good (CREDIT: Rifftrax/Screenshot)
There was a movie sign, so I followed it to my local multiplex. Yes indeed, I went to see the special theatrical premiere of the first episode of MST3K: The Rifftrax Experiments, in which Mike Nelson and the bots checked out the 1960s Portuguese man o’ war-centric thriller Sting of Death. And well, I’m pleased to report that there were plenty of terrific riffs! My favorite was assuredly the one about how young people used to be much older, while the biggest collective laugh overall in my theater had to be the observation that the director dared to film upside-down butts. I would list some riffs verbatim here, but I want to make sure I don’t get any verbiage incorrect (even slightly), so I’ll wait until I can rewatch this episode once it arrives on Rifftrax proper before I do anything like that. And rewatch I shall, as MST3K has always thrived in its rewatchability.
September 8, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Allison Janney, Ridley Scott, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Benedict Wong, Guy Pearce, Jacob Elordi, The Dog Stars
TFW you’re looking for dog stars (CREDIT: 20th Century Studios)
Starring: Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney, Benedict Wong
Director: Ridley Scott
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: August 28, 2026 (Theaters)
The Dog Stars fully convinced me (if I wasn’t convinced already) that perpetually overcast movies should only be released in theaters in November or December. Certainly not in summer! Not even late summer. Maybe if The Dog Stars were a much better movie while still being just as cloudy, I might feel a little differently. But it’s important to draw a line. Anyway, much of this flick is pretty sleepy and had me wishing that I was outside enjoying the sunshine instead. Although there were a few sequences that made it worthwhile, particularly the new (and kinda freaky) society devised by Allison Janney’s character and any moment when Josh Brolin kept willfully confusing Mennonites with Mormons.
Grade: 33 Roaches out of 77 Junctions
September 4, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Act III, Algorithm, By Any Means, Colin From Accounts, Dexys Midnight Runners, Ellie Goulding, Fall 2, Fall 2: Deadpoint, I Know Too Much, Kasabian, Love, Natalie Imbruglia, Onslaught, The Paper
TFW every day feels like Paper (CREDIT: Peacock/Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–By Any Means (Theaters)
–Fall 2: Deadpoint (Theaters)
–Onslaught (Theaters)
TV
–The Paper Season 2 (September 9 on Peacock)
–Colin from Accounts Season 3 (September 10 on Paramount+) – Final Season Alert!
Music
-Dexys Midnight Runners, Love
-Ellie Goulding, I Know Too Much
-Natalie Imbruglia, Algorithm
-Kasabian, Act III
September 3, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
By Any Means, David Straitharn, Elegance Bratton, Ethan Embry, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, LaChanze, LisaGay Hamilton, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Stephen Bass, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Should you see this movie by any means? (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)
Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Wahlberg, Nicole Beharie, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, David Straitharn, Ethan Embry, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Stephen Bass
Director: Elegance Bratton
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Rating: R for Unbridled Violence and Language
Release Date: September 4, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: By Any Means wades into the powder keg that was 1960s Mississippi during the civil rights struggle. The FBI took up some terrifying investigations down there, including the murder of activist Vernon Dahmer (Giancarlo Esposito) at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Special Agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who was close with Dahmer, is assigned to lead the investigation. But because this case is expected to be particularly violent and intractable, Strider’s superiors inform him that he will be unofficially working alongside a mysterious man named Gregory Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), who sure seems to be a mafia hitman. Scarpa has no qualms about showering fists and bullets into anyone who stonewalls the investigation. While Strider is stunned by this level of carte blanche, it seems like the only way for them to make any progress, although it doesn’t appear to be doing much to stop the cycle of violence in this crucial fight for justice.
What Made an Impression?: Consequences Be Damned: Like a lot of movies based on true events, By Any Means left me wanting to research the real story. Usually that’s because the onscreen version is so inspiring, and I want that feeling to last with more intimate knowledge. But in this case, it’s kind of the opposite. It might be satisfying in the moment to see someone like Scarpa let loose on a bunch of racists, but surely it’s only adding more fuel to the fire. It would be nice to learn that the real Scarpa was more reined in, though I’m not exactly holding out hope that that was the case.
How Do We Live With All This?: I’d love to tell you that we’re supposed to feel conflicted about the extreme titular means justifying the ends, but I’m not really sure what the filmmakers want us to feel. Director Elegance Bratton delivers it all in an unflinching package that leaves little room for reflection by any of the characters. However, there’s room for us to be reflective as audience members, at least, as we’re not directly implicated in the worst of it. You won’t feel guilty for being entertained, either. I certainly wasn’t. It just would have been nice to have a more direct acknowledgement about the discomfiting nature of it all.
At Least It Sounds Cool: One thing I’m not ambiguous about is the absolutely rousing score from Terence Blanchard. If you heard the logline for this movie and thought, “We need the same composer that they had for BlacKkKlansman,” well, that’s exactly what happened. Blanchard is your man when you need a music package that is going to give your audience’s soul an exhausting jazz workout. It’s invigorating, overpowering, and a little exhausting. So not too different from the investigation itself.
By Any Means is Recommended If You Like: Prosthetic noses
Grade: 3 out of 5 Badges
September 2, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Arsema Thomas, Fall, Fall 2, Fall 2: Deadpoint, Grace Caroline Currey, Harriet Slater, Michael Spierig, Peter and Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig, The Spierig Brothers, Tom Brittney, Virginia Gardner
Have a nice Fall! (CREDIT: Lionsgate)
Starring: Harriet Slater, Arsema Thomas, Tom Brittney, Virginia Gardner, Grace Caroline Currey
Director: The Spierig Brothers
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Bloody Moments Amidst the Extreme Peril, as Well as Some Drug Material
Release Date: September 2, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Following the death of her daredevil sister Shiloh (Virginia Gardner), Jax Hunter (Harriet Slater) has been dealing with a lot of unwanted attention. Shiloh died by falling from a 2,000-foot TV tower, so maybe Jax can move on by conquering her own fears from an even greater height. At least that’s what her new friend Luce (Arsema Thomas) thinks is a brilliant idea. So they head off to Thailand to conquer a notorious mountain famous for its dragon sculpture that supposedly eats your fears. None of the locals are willing to show them the way, but they do convince one guide (Tom Brittney) that they have what it takes. So soon enough, they’re all merrily stepping along a narrow bridge on the edge of the mountain. But as you might imagine, disaster strikes, and they end up stranded on a tiny plank 3,000 feet up in the air.
What Made an Impression?: How White Were My Knuckles: Survival thrillers that toy with acrophobia succeed most obviously in terms of how well they can make viewers feel like they too could plunge to their demise, but from the safety of their recliner chairs. The first Fall managed that feat tremendously. While Fall 2 isn’t quite as consistent in this regard, it does deliver a sufficient dose of sweaty palms and adrenaline bursts, particularly one scene when Jax summons her inner gymnast. Those with severe motion sickness should respectfully decline.
It Didn’t Seem Like a Good Idea at the Time: The details of Deadpoint are unique enough that you couldn’t fairly call it “Fall Redux,” but it is animated by some of the same underlying questions. In particular: why does one of the climbers ever agree to this? Jax is in no mood to cheat death, and there are plenty of much safer options for her to deal with her struggles. So how can it be that she so readily agrees to jaunt off all the way to Thailand? It simply doesn’t make sense. But sometimes people make decisions that don’t make sense, especially when they’re grieving.
Come Again?: Like its predecessor, Fall 2 utilizes its deviously simple setup to deliver plenty of lizard brain pleasures. But then in the final act, it serves up a ludicrous reveal that had me thinking, “Yeah, I’m pretty much going to ignore that and instead focus on the first 75 minutes.” It’s a bold decision, but not exactly one I’m convinced was set up properly.
Fall 2: Deadpoint is Recommended If You Like: The first Fall, Free Solo, Nonsensical twists
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Planks
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