CREDIT: Screenshot
Time to catch up on the viewing highlights of the spring!!!
That’s Auntertaiment: What’s Jeff Watching? #19
June 8, 2025
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Doctor Who, Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, Podcasts, That's Auntertainment, The Rehearsal, What's Jeff Watching? Leave a comment
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 6/6/25
June 6, 2025
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports, Television Beatie Wolfe, Belmont Stakes, Black Sunday Live At The Royal Albert Hall, Brian Eno, Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe, Cypress Hill, Dangerous Animals, I Don't Understand You, Lateral, London Symphony Orchestra, Luminal, Resident Alien, The 1% Club, The Doobie Brothers, The Ritual, Tonys, US Open, Walk This Road Leave a comment
giving away more money this summer (CREDIT: FOX/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
–Dangerous Animals (Theaters)
–I Don’t Understand You (Theaters)
–The Ritual (Theaters)
TV
–Resident Alien Season 4 Premiere (June 6 on Syfy and USA)
-Tony Awards (June 8 on CBS) – Hosted by Cynthia Erivo.
–The 1% Club Season Premiere (June 10 on FOX) – Hosted by Joel McHale this season.
Music
-Cypress Hill & London Symphony Orchestra, Black Sunday Live At The Royal Albert Hall
-The Doobie Brothers, Walk This Road
-Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe, Luminal and Lateral
-Pulp, More
Sports
-Belmont Stakes (June 7 on FOX) – End of the Triple Crown.
-U.S. Open (June 12-15 on USA, NBC, and Peacock) – The golf version, returning to Oakmont Country Club.
‘Ballerina’ Review: Ana de Armas Dances Her Way to Vengeance – Will You Be Cheering Her On?
June 4, 2025
Cinema, Movie Reviews Anjelica Huston, Ava Mccarthy, Ballerina, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McShane, John Wick, Keanu Reeves, Lance Reddick, Len Wiseman, na de Armas, Norman Reedus Leave a comment
I must have seen her (CREDIT: Murray Close//Lionsgate)
Starring: Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ava Mccarthy, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves
Director: Len Wiseman
Running Time: 125 Minutes
Rating: R for ALL of the Violence
Release Date: June 6, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: When Eve Macarro was just a little girl, she witnessed her father being brutally murdered right in front of her. So as you might suspect, she’s spent the rest of her life planning her revenge. In the meantime, she’s been training in the art of ballet (you might even call her the titular Ballerina) as part of the traditions of the assassin group known as the Ruska Roma. Since this all takes place in the world of John Wick, she stops by the Continental Hotel to track down those who were responsible for her father’s demise, which leads her to a centuries-old cult seemingly motivated purely by bloodshed. But if she’s not careful (or even if she is careful), her quest for vengeance could blow up an uneasy peace within the assassin underworld. And maybe if we’re lucky, John Wick himself might just show up to help her out, or stop her in her tracks.
What Made an Impression?: A New-Ish Kind of Revenge: The first John Wick movie did revenge a little differently, mainly by having the protagonist be motivated by a dead dog instead of a dead family member. Ballerina at first appears to be going the much more straightforward route. But ultimately, the climax paints a somewhat more complicated and intriguing picture. It’s far from the most groundbreaking portrait of vengeance ever, but it’s sufficient enough to hold your attention.
Backstory Schmackstory: Ballerina spins off primarily from John Wick: Chapter 3, which is my least favorite of the Wick series, mainly because it dived so deeply into lore that I just didn’t care one hoot about. Ballerina isn’t quite as lore-heavy, mostly operating in broad strokes about the rituals and truces of these assassin groups. It’s enough to set the tone without becoming impenetrable.
You Got to Be Versatile: Eve Macarro is no John Wick. Few action heroes are, though! To be fair to Ana de Armas, she’s at least a confident enough action hero to get the job done. She may not be getting inducted into the Fictional Assassin Hall of Fame anytime, but she does at least wield a flamethrower unforgettably. Also, she dispatches someone in a moment very reminiscent of the swordsman scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I definitely enjoyed that moment.
Ballerina is Recommended If You: Wanted a John Wick movie without John Wick (but not entirely)
Grade: 3 out of 5 Broken Plates
‘The Life of Chuck’ Reveals All the Lives Within That Life of Chuck
June 4, 2025
Cinema, Movie Reviews Annalise Basso, Benjamin Pajak, Carl Lumbly, Chiwetel Ejifor, David Dastmalchian, Harvey Guillén, Heather Langenkamp, Jacob Tremblay, Karen Gillan, Kate Siegel, Mark Hamill, Matthew Lillard, Mia Sara, Mike Flanagan, Nick Offerman, Q’orianka Kilcher, Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, The Life of Chuck, Tom Hiddleston, Violet McGraw Leave a comment
The Spontaneous Choreography of Chuck (CREDIT: NEON)
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, Chiwetel Ejifor, Karen Gillan, Mark Hamill, Annalise Basso, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Carl Lumbly, Samantha Sloyan, Harvey Guillén, Kate Siegel, Nick Offerman, Q’Orianka Kilcher, David Dastmalchian, Rahul Kohli, Heather Langenkamp, Violet McGraw
Director: Mike Flanagan
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Rating: R for Language, Apparently (Nothing Overly Outrageous)
Release Date: June 6, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Told in three acts unfolding in reverse order, Act Three of The Life of Chuck opens on a future on the verge of apocalypse: the internet is becoming ever more unreliable, natural disasters are an everyday occurrence, and soon enough the stars are being wiped from the sky. Everyone is despairing, and the only sign of hope are literal signs popping up all around town thanking some guy named Chuck Krantz for his 39 years of service. But nobody has any idea who Chuck is! But then we step back to Act Two, taking place on one of the most memorable days of Chuck’s (Tom Hiddleston) life, when he spontaneously decides to start dancing in front of a busking drummer and quickly draws an enraptured crowd. And finally, Act One introduces us to a middle school-age Chuck (Benjamin Pajak), who’s living with his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara) following the tragic death of his mom and dad.
What Made an Impression?: The King’s English: Mike Flanagan is currently our foremost adapter of Stephen King, with The Life of Chuck based on a novella that was published in 2020. I’ve never read a single story written by King, but it’s impossible to avoid him if you’ve been watching movies for the past 50 years. While I’ve enjoyed plenty of those big screen versions, they’ve never made me want to dive into the source. There’s something that’s just a little bit uncanny about the worlds that King weaves. It’s like he’s speaking a language that’s ever so slightly different from the one I’m speaking. And when that language is filtered through the lens of someone who’s clearly as much of a fan as Flanagan is, that uncanniness is a rather strong flavor.
Voice Overlord: I’ve enjoyed the narration in plenty of movies that feature it, and I’ve also enjoyed Nick Offerman in pretty much everything he’s ever done. But the narration narrated by Nick Offerman in The Life of Chuck? Well, that had me going “Huh.” It’s blunt, literal, and near-constant. But it also felt completely necessary if this movie was going to be the movie that it wants to be. Does that make sense?
One Life: The whole idea underlying The Life of Chuck seems to be that there’s an entire universe living within Chuck’s brain (and by extension, everyone else’s brain). To get mildly spoiler-y, he’s dying of cancer, and that universe is dimming in his final moments. Is Chuck truly worthy of this biographical treatment? Yes, insofar as every single individual is worthy of such treatment. If The Life of Chuck didn’t fully work for any of us, well, then perhaps we could respond by crafting our own The Life of (Whoever the Hell We Want).
All He Wants to Do Is…: Despite all my misgivings, I’ve got to give it up for that dance scene. Actually, there are multiple dance scenes, but I’m talking about that busking one right in the middle. Damn, Hiddleston-as-Chuck gives it his all. And you know what else this scene underscored me? I really love drumming. Taylor Gordon just pounds away on the skins, and it goes straight to my core. And then Annalise Basso plays Chuck’s impromptu partner, who’s wearing the perfect dress to accentuate all of their spins and dips. It’s one of the best scenes of the year.
The Life of Chuck is Recommended If You Like: Hanging upside-down while reading a book all day until the sun sets
Grade: 3 out of 5 Chucks
This One Weird Trick Helped Me Watch ‘Lilo & Stitch’ (2025), ‘Thunderbolts*,’ and ‘Bring Her Back’
June 3, 2025
Cinema, Movie Reviews Amy Hill, Billy Barratt, Billy Magnussen, Bring Her Back, Chris Bauer, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance, Danny and Michael Philippou, Danny Philippou, David Harbour, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Florence Pugh, Geraldine Viswanathan, Hannah John-Kamen, Hannah Waddingham, Jake Schreier, Jonah Wren Phillips, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kaipo Dudoit, Lewis Pullman, Lilo & Stitch, Lilo & Stitch 2025, Maia Kealoha, Michael Philippou, Mischa Heywood, Olga Kurylenko, RackaRacka, Sally Hawkins, Sally-Anne Upton, Sebastian Stan, Sora Wong, Stephen Phillips, Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Thunderbolts*, Tia Carrere, Wendell Pierce, Wyatt Russell, Zach Galifianakis 1 Comment
They brought Stitch back! And he brought the Thunder (CREDIT: Ingvar Kenne/A24; Disney/Screenshot; Marvel/Screenshot)
Lilo & Stitch (2025)
Starring: Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Courtney B. Vance, Hannah Waddingham, Kaipo Dudoit, Tia Carrere, Amy Hill
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: May 23, 2025 (Theaters)
Thunderbolts*
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce
Director: Jake Schreier
Running Time: 126 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: May 2, 2025 (Theaters)
Bring Her Back
Starring: Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, Sally-Anne Upton, Stephen Phillips, Mischa Heywood
Directors: Danny and Michael Philippou
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: May 30, 2025 (Theaters)
Okay, wow, I just noticed something weird. Or maybe not that weird. And maybe millions of other folks have already noticed this before me. But that doesn’t mean it’s not weird!
jmunney’s Top Cinematic Choices for June 2025
June 1, 2025
Cinema, Monthly Top Cinematic Choices 28 Years Later, Elio, M3GAN 2.0, Movie preview Leave a comment
Time for Teletubbies! (CREDIT: Universal Pictures/Screenshot)
They keep making new movies, and some of them are even worth watching. Here’s what’s at the top of the slate for June 2025:
28 Years Later: It’s been fewer than 28 years since 28 Days Later came out in 2002, but cinematic time isn’t always linear. Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland return to the world of the Rage virus.
It will be 28 Years Later in movie theaters on June 20.
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 5/30/25
May 30, 2025
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports, Television Bring Her Back, Garbage, Get Sunk, Grace Potter, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, Matt Berninger, Medicine, Miley Cyrus, NBA Finals, Pavement, Pavements, Possession, Something Beautiful, The Phoenician Scheme, The Quiz with Balls, Ty Segall Leave a comment
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Bring Her Back (Theaters)
–The Phoenician Scheme (Theaters)
TV
–The Quiz with Balls Season Premiere (June 2 on FOX) – Still ballin’.
Music
-Matt Berninger, Get Sunk
-Miley Cyrus, Something Beautiful
-Garbage, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light
-Pavement, Pavements – Soundtrack to the film.
-Grace Potter, Medicine – This was actually recorded a while ago.
-Ty Segall, Possession
Sports
-NBA Finals (Begins June 5 on ABC) – Feeling pretty thunderous this year.
‘Karate Kid: Legends’ is Mildly Diverting
May 29, 2025
Cinema, Movie Reviews Aramis Knight, Ben Wang, Jackie Chan, Jonathan Entwistle, Joshua Jackson, Karate Kid: Legends, Ming-Na Wen, Ralph Macchio, Sadie Stanley, The Karate Kid, Wyatt Oleff Leave a comment
Legen- (wait for it?) -dary? (CREDIT: Jonathan Wenk/Columbia Pictures)
Starring: Ben Wang, Jackie Chan, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Ralph Macchio, Joshua Jackson, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff
Director: Jonathan Entwistle
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Violence, Officially Sanctioned or Otherwise
Release Date: May 30, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a perfectly pleasant teenage boy living in Beijing with his doctor mother (Ming-Na Wen) who must make his way to the Big Apple when she lands a job in NYC. But his head and his heart remain behind in China, particularly the kung fu school of the legendary Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). Alas, Mom has forbidden fighting for this new beginning, but little do they know that Li is just the latest protagonist in a generations-spanning martial arts saga. In the meantime, he also becomes close with a girl named Mia (Sadie Stanley) and her dad (Joshua Jackson) from the local pizza place, which only draws him further into the world of combat sports.
What Made an Impression?: The New Kid in Town: The first Karate Kid movie arrived in theaters more than 40 years ago. But I haven’t seen any of them, nor have I watched the Cobra Kai spinoff series, though I have absorbed the key details by dint of cultural ubiquity. Which is all to say: Karate Kid: Legends is perfectly easy to follow for newbies. Its main focus is on the characters introduced in this chapter after all, and any connections with the returning favorites are thoroughly explained to ward off any potential confusion. Was it already established in the 2010 Karate Kid remake that Mr. Han knew Mr. Miyagi? I don’t know, but also, it doesn’t matter that I didn’t know. Does it make sense that Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is recruited all the way from L.A. to help train Li? No, but I guess that just happens when you’re putting together a supergroup.
The Other Story: A good chunk of Legends‘ plot is devoted to a story lane that isn’t even hinted at in the trailers. I wouldn’t call it a spoiler to reveal it, but I won’t say much more, since it can be fun when a movie shamelessly breaks the promises it made with its audience in the promo material. But at least let me tease what I’m hinting about by wondering aloud: who knew that Joshua Jackson would have a bigger role than Ralph Macchio in a Karate Kid movie in 2025 (or any year)? And who could have ever guessed that would be a good thing?
Give Me a Slice: When Li first visits Mia and her dad’s pizza shop, he cluelessly asks them if they have any stuffed crust pies. He immediately gets chewed out for his very un-Manhattan request and then gets stuck with “Deep Dish” for a nickname. And that’s what passes for a joke in this movie. Although the script doesn’t really commit to this razzing, since he’s addressed by that epithet just a handful of times. I wish it had happened more often.
Karate Kid: Legends is Recommended If You Like: Dawson’s Creek more than Karate Kid
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Kickpunches
Does ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Have What We’re Looking For?
May 27, 2025
Cinema, Movie Reviews Benedict Cumberbatch, Benicio del Toro, Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Charlotte Gainsbourg, F. Murray Abraham, Hope Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Richard Ayoade, Riz Ahmed, Rupert Friend, Scarlett Johansson, The Phoenician Scheme, Tom Hanks, Wes Anderson, Willem Dafoe 1 Comment
A couple of schemeers (Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.)
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Mathieu Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Bill Murray, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham
Director: Wes Anderson
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Gunshots, Plane Crashes, and Mid-century Tobacco
Release Date: May 30, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: It’s 1950, and businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) is at an impasse. He’s trying to complete a major infrastructure project, but he finds himself the victim of several assassination attempts and a consortium of rival tycoons trying to box him out from all of his moneymaking endeavors. Sensing that his demise may be imminent, he summons his nun-in-training daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) from the convent to inform her that he’s making her his sole heir. Then the two of them journey off along with his sons’ tutor Bjørn (Michael Cera) to close the funding gap for his project and maybe also discover who killed Liesl’s mother years ago.
What Made an Impression?: Is Redemption Possible?: Zsa-zsa is introduced as a ruthless capitalist who pretty much deserves to be assassinated. He might have even also killed Liesl’s mom! But does this rapscallion have the capacity for change? I must say, it’s hard not to notice some softening. Maybe it’s the visions of pearly gates, maybe it’s Liesl’s pious but nonjudgmental influence, but somehow someway he’s inching towards respectability. By the end, there are still plenty of grievous missteps on his ledger that he must accept responsibility for, but I mostly bought the redemption.
They Shoot, They Score!: My favorite scene in The Phoenician Scheme features Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston as a pair of brothers playing basketball against Zsa-zsa and Riz Ahmed’s prince character. They call it 2-on-2, first-to-5, but it’s really a round of H-O-R-S-E. But who cares about technicalities when H&C relish tossing the rock this much? They might be AARP-eligible, but they’re looking more athletic than they ever have.
Silly Voices and Such: I’m not a super-fan of Wes Anderson, but I enjoy him well enough to consistently appreciate his fastidious eye for detail and ability to ground over-the-top fashion and quirky architecture. That works best in this feature in terms of the ridiculous accents that are occasionally revealed as put-ons for outlandishly simple disguises.* I chuckled heartily. (*Richard Ayoade, in contrast, deploys what I believe is his adorably natural voice as a communist revolutionary.)
A Star Takes Her Vows: Del Toro may be Number 1 on the call sheet, but I suspect that Threapleton will be enjoying the majority of the buzz. She’s the daughter of Kate Winslet and Jim Threapleton, so gird yourself if you have an aversion to nepo babies. But regardless of her heritage, she sets herself apart as a unique screen presence as she pulls off the neat trick of making us fall in love with a bride of Christ. Or maybe that’s actually the easiest task in the world, because of the taboo aspect of it all. Either way, she nails it.
The Phoenician Scheme is Recommended If You: Have an Endless Wes Andersonian Appetite, Forever and Ever, Amen
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Hand Grenades
SNL50 Checks Out
May 23, 2025
Saturday Night Live, SNL Season Recaps, Television Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 50, SNL, SNL Season 50, SNL50 Leave a comment
CREDIT: NBC/Screenshots
Oh wow, did you notice that Saturday Night Live Season 50 recently ended? Whenever that happens, I like to reflect upon the goings-on at Studio 8H from the past several months. What sketches stuck with me the most? What Weekend Update lunatics are most worthy of discussion? Was the music any good?
So here’s how that’s going to go down this time: First I’m going to consult The SNL Archives and my own weekly reviews, and maybe re-watch a few sketches if I have time. Then I’m going to report to you, dear readers, what made the most lasting impressions on me. And please let me know how SNL50 made you feel as well! (And keep your eye on this space in the months to come in case I realize later that there was something that I forgot to mention.)
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