Starring: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Demi Moore, Don Cheadle, Jason Ritter, Kara Young, Jermaine Fowler
Director: Boots Riley
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Rating: R for Creative Nudity and Language
Release Date: May 22, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Corvette (Keke Palmer), Sade (Naomi Ackie), and Mariah (Taylour Paige) are making ends meet in the San Francisco area by shoplifting (aka “boosting”) clothes and reselling them at a discount. But they’re aspiring to quite a bit more than that. Trouble is, though, it’s pretty much impossible to get ahead in fashion when an influential billionaire like Christie Smith (Demi Moore) steals your designs. So the boosters have revenge on their mind, and their tenacity leads them to uncover a patronizing conspiracy and some reality-altering technology. Meanwhile, Corvette might have some romance brewing with a mysterious individual played by LaKeith Stanfield, but that could be much more bizarrely troublesome than it’s worth.
What Made an Impression?: It’s a Surprise: I don’t want to spoil I Love Boosters, but even if I told you everything that happens in precisely minute detail, you still wouldn’t know anything. You must actually witness it to believe it. That’s how Boots Riley lures us in: grounding us in what initially appears to be a fairly accurate recreation of the real world, only to overturn it all with a reveal that makes you cry out, “How did I get here?!” After all, his unapologetic message of expansive workers’ rights goes down easier that way. There’s a Lot Going On: If my previous paragraph makes it sound like Riley is employing a similar strategy as he did in his directorial debut Sorry to Bother You, that’s because he certainly is. But the key difference is that whereas StBY hinged on one major twist, I Love Boosters offers up a handful of them. The chaotically overwhelming approach of the latter is not quite as successful as the easier-to-map former. But even though the whole of ILB is tricky to handle, pretty much every individual piece sparkles, and I’m glad that it didn’t hold back any of its big swings, despite the messiness. I’m Warped: If this all sounds way too dizzying, well, rest assured that I actually found I Love Boosters to be kind of gentle. Although maybe that’s just because I enjoy watching reality get bent more than the average comrade. I wouldn’t recommend this freakishly fascinating flick to everybody, but I would absolutely approve of its consumption for anyone with an amicably deranged sensibility. If that doesn’t describe you, it might still be worth the risk, though. After all, it’s splattered with a whole lot more primary colors than eat-the-rich fairy tales typically are.
I Love Boosters is Recommended If You Like:They Live, Skittles, Dialectics
Photo of a Man Who Can’t Be Stopped (CREDIT: Amazon MGM Studios)
Starring: Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Anthony Robles
Director: William Goldenberg
Running Time: 123 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Troubles at Home
Release Date: December 6, 2024 (Limited Theaters)/January 16, 2025 (Amazon Prime Video)
What’s It About?: Champion wrestler Anthony Robles is one of those athletes with an undeniable underdog appeal. His family struggled to make ends meet, his stepfather was unreliable, and also he was born with only one leg. But eventually he managed to be one of the top college grapplers in the country. So it’s hardly a surprise that there’s now a biopic starring Jharrel Jerome as him, as well as J. Lo as his mom, Bobby Cannavale as his stepdad, and Michael Peña and Don Cheadle as his coaches. It had a limited theatrical run at the end of 2024, and now it’s streaming on Amazon Prime.
What Made an Impression?: Head on Straight, Learning to Pivot: I think the ideal way to experience Unstoppable is for wrestling coaches to screen it for their teams or aspiring wrestlers and then bring in the real Robles for a motivational speech and Q&A session. Sports biopics are often inspirational to a fault, but this one certainly earns that spirit. The world wasn’t exactly designed for one-legged people, after all. Anthony doesn’t make excuses for himself, but he’s also far from perfect. For those of us watching, there are plenty of opportunities to really dig into his decision-making to help anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps to think both ambitiously and practically. Standard Filmmaking Achieved: Ultimately, Unstoppable is one of those movies that I don’t find myself going absolutely ga-ga for, while also not really wanting to criticize it all that much. The acting is solid, the filmmaking is sufficient, and it gets its themes and emotions across effectively. But it doesn’t do anything spectacular. I doubt it will stick in my mind all that much, but I might stumble across it totally randomly a few years from now and go, “Oh yeah, I saw that movie. I hope Anthony Robles is still doing okay.” And if anyone is doing more than okay thanks to having watched Unstoppable, well then, I’m glad it exists.
Unstoppable is Recommended If You Like: High school wrestling, College wrestling, Olympic wrestling (probably)
Starring: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Raffey Cassidy, Sam Nivola, May Nivola, Don Cheadle, André Benjamin, Jodie Turner-Smith
Director: Noah Baumbach
Running Time: 136 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: November 25, 2022 (Theaters)/December 30, 2022 (Netflix)
My favorite part of White Noise is the exuberant supermarket end credits dance number, to the point that I wished the entire movie had been one long choreographed performance. But in a way, it kind of was, if you interpret the unnatural dialogue as a sort of dance. And I’m going to choose to remember it that way. I’m sure Jack and Baba would approve.
Grade: A Whole Lot of Air in That Airborne Toxic Event
Cartoon LeBron (CREDIT: Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube Screenshot)
Starring: LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, Don Cheadle, Sonequa Martin-Green, Cedric Joe, Khris Davis, Ceyair J. Wright, Harper Leigh Alexander, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Lola Bunny (Zendaya), Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, Tweety Bird, Granny, Speedy Gonzales, Tasmanian Devil, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Bob Bergen, Candi Milo, Gabriel Iglesias, Anthony Davis, Diana Taurasi, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, Nneka Ogwumike, Ernie Johnson, Lil Rel Howery, Sarah Silverman, Steven Yeun, Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, King Kong, Ilsa Lund, Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, The Iron Giant
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: July 16, 2021 (Theaters and HBO Max)
The first Space Jam was unhinged; the second Space Jam is also unhinged, but it could be more unique. Or, it could be more committed to its own singular vision. What reality is it tethered to? Are these the same Looney Tunes from 25 years ago? When we get any sense of continuity, I’m intrigued. As for that journey through the Warner Bros “Server-verse”? Why not just fully commit to it and have Tony Soprano play point guard while the Droogs take up the frontcourt? Look, Al-G Rhythm’s plan makes no sense, LeBron’s conflict with his son makes no sense, the scoring system makes no sense, why not take that nonsense to the nth degree? I believe they could’ve flown blind.
Grade: Where’s the Basketball?* (*Said like the “Where’s the Beef?” Lady)
Jeffrey Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then organizes the sketches into the following categories: “Love It” (potentially Best of the Season-worthy), “Keep It” (perfectly adequate), or “Leave It” (in need of a rewrite, to say the least). Then he concludes with assessments of the host and musical guest.
Love It
Roach-Ex – Man, maybe all SNL sketches should be under three minutes long. Perhaps every once in a while, you can bust out a ten-minute behemoth, but there is plenty to be said in favor of economical storytelling. The twist of how visceral the fight against the roaches is just hits so hard with this approach.
For my detailed thoughts on my predictions and wishlists in the major Drama, Comedy, and Variety categories, check out these links:
–Comedy
–Drama –Variety
Guest Actor, Comedy John Hawkes, Inside Amy Schumer
Michael Rapaport, Louie
Chris Gethard, Parks and Recreation
Dwayne Johnson, Saturday Night Live
Guest Actress, Comedy Susie Essman, Broad City
Guest Actor, Drama Mel Rodriguez, Better Call Saul
Guest Actress, Drama Allison Janney, Masters of Sex Linda Lavin, The Good Wife
Directing, Comedy Rob Schrab, “Modern Espionage,” Community
Directing, Drama Adam Arkin, “The Promise,” Justified
Writing, Comedy Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna, “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television,” Community
Writng, Drama Thomas Schnauz, “Pimento,” Better Call Saul
Animated Program Bojack Horseman – “Downer Ending” American Dad! – “Dreaming of a White Porsche Christmas” The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror XXV”
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