March 30, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
A'ja Wilson, Aaron Pierre, Adam Pally, Andre Igoudala, Andrew Santino, Angel Reese, Aparna Nancherla, Ayesha Curry, Bobby Lee, Bobby Moynihan, Caleb McLaughlin, Daniel Chong, Dave Franco, David Harbour, Dwyane Wade, Eduardo Franco, Gabrielle Union, GOAT, Hoppers, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Leis, Joe La Puma, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Kevin Love, Melissa Villasenor, Nick Kroll, Nicola Coughlan, Patton Oswalt, Piper Curda, Rayaan Khan, Sam Richardson, Sherry Cola, Steph Curry, Tom Law, Tyree Dillihay, VanVan, Wayne Knight
They’re doing their thang (CREDIT: Sony Pictures Animation; Pixar/Screenshot)
GOAT
Starring: Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Pierre, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Nick Kroll, Steph Curry, Jennifer Leis, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson, Sherry Cola, Eduardo Franco, Andrew Santino, Bobby Lee, Ayesha Curry, Wayne Knight, Adam Pally, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Love, Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, Andre Igoudala, Joe La Puma, Rayaan Khan, VanVan
Director: Tyree Dillihay
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: February 13, 2026 (Theaters)
Hoppers
Starring: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco, Aparna Nancherla, Tom Law, Sam Richardson, Melissa Villaseñor
Director: Daniel Chong
Running Time:
Rating: PG
Release Date: March 7, 2026 (Theaters)
There are a whole heck of a lot of talking animals in American animated movies, but somehow I don’t think I’ve ever paired two such movies together in my reviews. Or at least not intentionally, and not explicitly acknowledging it like I’m doing right now. (Feel free to fact-check me if that sounds fishy to you.) So let’s collect my thoughts about GOAT and Hoppers and determine how much they make me want me to be an animal.
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April 13, 2025
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Jon Hamm, Lizzo, Saturday Night Live Season 50, SNL, SNL Season 50
About last night… (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.
Here we go, it’s time to review another episode of Saturday Night Live! And just like last week’s edition, we’ve got a dude hosting for the fourth time after more than a decade since his third. But unlike Thomas Jacob Black, Jonathan Daniel Hamm has made plenty of cameo appearances in the intervening period. And as for the songs, well, fourth time’s clearly the charm, because Melissa Jefferson (better known as Lizzo) is also making her fourth appearance as musical guest.
In honor of one of Jon Hamm’s most classic SNL sketches, I’m going to review each segment of this episode by declaring if it’s More Hammy or More Bubbly. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, it all depends on the context!
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September 12, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Brian Tyree Henry, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Josh Cooley, Keegan-Michael Key, Laurence Fishburne, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Transformers, Transformers One
One is the loneliest Transformer that you’ll ever do! (CREDIT: Paramount Animation/Hasbro)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm
Director: Josh Cooley
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Rating: PG for Robot Dismemberment
Release Date: September 20, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: If you’re concerned that most Transformers movies have too many pesky dang humans, then have I got the movie for you! Well, actually, it’s Paramount and Hasbro who have the movie for you, I’m just here to let you know about it. It’s an animated flick called Transformers One, and it takes place entirely on the robots’ home planet of Cybertron, and it doesn’t follow any of the Autobots and Decepticons that we’ve come to know and love over the years… or does it? A couple of bots named Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Bryan Tyree Henry) are stuck underground working the mines day after day, but they have a hankering to discover what’s really happening on the planet’s surface. They eventually make their way up there along with a scamp named B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) and a steady hand named Elita (Scarlett Johansson), as they uncover a conspiracy and fight to realize a new path forward for Cybertron.
What Made an Impression?: Vroom Vroom: Before Orion and D-16 emerge onto the surface, they first try to make a name for themselves by sneaking their way into the IACON 5000, which appears to be the most popular racing event in all of Cybertron. Perhaps devoted Transformers fans already know all about the IACON, but for the uninitiated, it’s basically the Indianapolis 500 crossed with the colorful loop-de-loop energy of Mario Kart. I wasn’t expecting this moment out of a Transformers movie, but quite frankly, it was a breath of fresh air compared to the typical metal-on-metal action. After this particular set piece, the plot becomes a fairly typical hero’s journey that’s easy enough to follow despite all the Cybertronic jargon. I would have personally preferred the fish-out-of-water sizzle typical of the live action Transformers flicks, but if we must stick with only the metal creatures the whole way through, then at least the IACON 5000 offers a nice change of pace.
Before They Were Stars: Transformers One plays things a little coy, but if you’ve encountered any major Transformers property in the past few decades, then you should be able to figure out without too much trouble the actual identities of the most iconic main characters. It’s a little disorienting that longtime Optimus Prime voice Peter Cullen is nowhere to be heard, but I appreciate the efforts at differentiation. There’s something to be said about these guys sounding a little different before they became universally renowned heroes and villains, after all. With this throwback approach, T One gave me similar reboot-ish vibes as another recent animated flick about non-human warriors released by Paramount. That earlier release also set up a new TV show, and I wouldn’t be surprised if similar plans are in place for a new Cybertron-set series. I wasn’t quite thrilled enough by T One to be excited about that possibility, though. But I imagine there are enough fans (or potential fans) of this property that there could be something viable there. So in conclusion, Transformers One is most successful as an inoffensive brand extension.
Transformers One is Recommended If You Like: A glitzy voice cast, Macguffin-filled dialogue, The neologism “Badassitron”
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Matrices
September 13, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Annie Mumolo, Ayden Mayeri, Confess Fletch, Fletch, Greg Mottola, John Behlmann, John Slattery, Jon Hamm, Kyle MacLachlan, Lorenza Izzo, Marcia Gay Harden, Roy Wood Jr.
So many confessions, so little time (CREDIT: Miramax/Paramount)
Starring: Jon Hamm, Roy Wood Jr., Lorenza Izzo, Ayden Mayeri, Marcia Gay Harden, Kyle MacLachlan, John Slattery, Annie Mumolo, John Behlmann
Director: Greg Mottola
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rating: R for Some Gunfire and a Little Bit of Wacky Horniness
Release Date: September 16, 2022 (Theaters and On Demand)
What’s It About?: Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher is back! But did he ever really go away? Well, yeah, kind of. Chevy Chase played him in a couple of outings in the 80s, but they haven’t really left much of a lasting cultural impression on the younger generations. If you’re wondering how Jon Hamm could ever take over a part made famous by Mr. Pratfall-in-Chief, be assured that it doesn’t matter. The version of this slippery investigative reporter we meet in Confess, Fletch hardly resembles the white guy who sported an Afro wig and a Lakers jersey. He bumbles around a bit, but so would just about anyone who gets accused of murder in a case of mistaken identity. Anyway, Fletch sets out to clear his name and interacts with a bunch of wacky characters along the way. But, you may be wondering, are they wacky enough?
What Made an Impression?: There are a few early scenes in Confess, Fletch in which Hamm seems to be trying to summon his inner Chevy Chase, and I’m like, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Sure, he can be funny despite his preternatural handsomeness, but it’s not of the crash-into-everything, smart aleck variety. What he can nail is the psychopath lurking underneath the pristine surface. But ultimately he’s not asked to deliver either of these personas. Instead, he’s more of the straight man reacting to all the chaos around him (in various flavors of cockamamie from the likes of Annie Mumolo, Marcia Gary Harden, and Kyle MacLachlan). Hamm can certainly provide that competently, but it’s hardly spectacular. Which pretty much describes this movie as a whole.
But one actor does shine especially bright, and that would be Ayden Mayeri, who’s having quite the breakout year, along with her turns in Spin Me Round and Apple TV+’s The Afterparty. She’s one of the two detectives (alongside Roy Wood Jr.) on Fletch’s tail, and at first it seems like she’s playing your typical flummoxed, overmatched authority figure. But she knows what she’s doing, despite her bouts of clumsiness. Sure, she may spill a milkshake all over her shirt, but her investigative instincts are sharp. She gets a big “thank you” from Fletch at the end, and I’m happy to second that sentiment.
Confess, Fletch is Recommended If You Like: Fidelity to source material that’s not super famous
Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Lakers Caps
May 24, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Bashir Salahuddin, Charles Parnell, Ed Harris, Glen Powell, Greg Tarzan Davis, Jay Ellis, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Joseph Kosinski, Lewis Pullman, Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro, Tom Cruise, Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick, Val Kilmer
Top Gun: Maverick (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Monica Barbaro, Charles Parnell, Jay Ellis, Greg Tarzan Davis, Bashir Salahuddin
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Running Time: 131 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Danger Behind Enemy Lines
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Let’s throw it right out there to begin. Does Top Gun: Maverick make me once again want to have the need, the need for speed? I won’t mince words: sort of, but not exactly. Those aerial acrobatics certainly had my adrenaline pumping, but patience is a virtue when watching this movie. Two hours and eleven minutes isn’t exactly a bloated running time for a big blockbuster action sequel, but when the majority of the action consists of training sessions leading up to The One Big Mission, you feel the weight of the wait. And as far as I, a humble movie viewer, can tell … that is exactly what everyone involved was going for! We get to see the work that goes into pushing limits, we all hold our collective breath, and we pray that everyone makes it out of the danger zone. And then Lady Gaga brings it on home with a rapturous rock ballad. That’s the formula for Top Gun Success in 2022.
You may be wondering why Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is still flying with the new class of pilots 36 years after we first met him. It’s not just because Tom Cruise is incorrigible about doing his own stunts. Metatextually, that is the reason, of course, but within the context of the narrative, it’s because Maverick just doesn’t want to be promoted beyond captain. Responsibility blows, right? Nevertheless, this state of affairs means that he’s the best person to train the new crop of Top Gun pilots (which includes at least one offspring of a former colleague) for an impossible mission. And what a doozy of an impossible mission it is, as they have to wipe out a uranium enrichment site in some mountainous nation (that remains hilariously unnamed the whole movie) by executing some dangerously sharp descents and ascents. It’s a very specific, contained situation to build an entire story around, and it mostly works.
If you’re hoping for the same bonhomie as the original, it’s certainly there, with a round of beach football taking the place of the volleyball. But the main attraction is all the clearly defined aerial action. The maneuvers require so much G-force that loss of consciousness is fully expected. We’re talking fainting while piloting thousands of feet up in the air! I could feel myself being flattened like a pancake in my seat just watching it. This is a portrait of the test of human limits that will have your throat in your stomach, your brain in your toes, and your soul dying and reincarnating. The danger zone is alive and well.
Top Gun: Maverick is Recommended If You Like: Watching planes fly by before football or baseball games
Grade: 4 out of 5 G-Forces
December 9, 2020
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Christopher Walken, Danielle Ryan, Dearbhla Molloy, Emily Blunt, Ireland, Jamie Dornan, John Patrick Shanley, Jon Hamm, Wild Mountain Thyme
Wild Mountain Thyme (Credit: Kerry Brown/Bleecker Street)
Starring: Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Christopher Walken, Dearbhla Molloy, Danielle Ryan
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Mild Adult-ness
Release Date: December 11, 2020 (Theaters and On Demand)
Do you despair at the lack of nakedly emotional romantic movies nowadays? Have you spent the past 33 years wondering when the next Moonstruck is going to finally come along? Do you believe it’s time to send Jon Hamm to Ireland? Well has John Patrick Shanley got just what you asked for! The screenwriter behind “Snap out of it!” and “Why do men chase women?” has taken his talents to the Emerald Isle for Wild Mountain Thyme, a windswept tale about two people who sure appear to be very much in love, though it takes them quite a while to fully consummate their passion. As with Moonstruck, the fun is less about wondering whether or not they end up together and more about how emotionally discombobulated they become by resisting where their passions obviously lie.
As the film begins, Christopher Walken intones, “Welcome to Ireland,” and I’m thinking, “I’m pretty sure Mr. More Cowbell is definitely not Irish, but I nevertheless feel as welcome as possible.” Walken plays Tony Reilly, father of Jamie Dornan’s Anthony (the “h” is silent and everyone hits that “t” as hard as they possibly can). The elder Tony is in a financial bind, so he’s set to sell the family farm to his American nephew Adam (Jon Hamm). That puts a damper on Anthony’s seemingly inevitable marriage to Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt), who had envisioned the two of them enjoying wedded bliss in the countryside. Anthony and Rosemary have basically been in love ever since they were kids, and everyone knows this. But for some reason Anthony cannot bring himself to pop the question, and honestly I’m not sure what his problem is. But I suspect that’s kind of the point. The best explanation the movie offers us is that he’s suffering from the vaguely defined familial strain of “Kelly madness” (Kelly being the surname of his grandfather).
Anthony’s dithering is so extreme that anyone watching is liable to wonder why Rosemary doesn’t just move on. And she’s not lacking for options, as there’s a scene that begins with her announcing “Today’s the day,” which leads to her making an impromptu trip to New York City (to the tune of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake score, no less) where she meets up with Adam and develops a quick natural repartee with her beloved’s cousin. And when she returns to Ireland, Anthony even attempts to push her in that direction. But somehow I am ultimately convinced by Shanley’s machinations and Blunt’s sheer force of will that Anthony and Rosemary really are going to make it work somehow. The way he digs in his heels should be disqualifying, but the situation only gets sillier and sillier, and thus more and more charming. Maybe we could all use a little bit of Kelly Madness in our lives.
Wild Mountain Thyme is Recommended If You Like: Moonstruck, Taking a while to snap out of it, Ireland, Jon Hamm-centric subplots
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Farms
June 23, 2020
jmunney
Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Television
Aden Young, Alison Brie, Andy Daly, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Bill Hader, Billy Porter, Bob Odenkirk, Danny Pudi, Eden Sher, Hugh Dancy, Joel McHale, Jon Hamm, Kyle MacLachlan, Lee Pace, Louie Anderson, Mackenzie Davis, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael McKean, Nathan Fielder, Rami Malek, Rhea Seehorn, Tatiana Maslany, Zach Galifianakis
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
The extra-special-bonus Best of the 2010s lists keep arriving all this week! Yesterday, it was the Best Film Performances, now we’re moving to the small screen with the top TV Performances. And while the screens were smaller, the roles were arguably bigger, at least in terms of running time.
Regarding eligibility: all Lead and Supporting (but not Guest) performances from any show that aired at least one full season between 2010 and 2019 was eligible. Actors who played multiple characters in the same show were considered one performance. Actors who played the same character across multiple shows were also considered one performance.
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May 13, 2020
jmunney
Television, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Carol Kane, choose your own adventure, Daniel Radcliffe, Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski, Jon Hamm, Kimmy vs. the Reverend, Titus Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
CREDIT: Netflix
I’m a little skeptical about choose-your-own adventure stories, but I’m not skeptical about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, so I happily watched the UKS choose-your-own-adventure special Kimmy vs. the Reverend. I am planning on watching it some more times in the future and choosing different story branches. I will then log my selections after each viewing. Here is Log #1
-LK-9
-Fun dress
-Go to the gym
-Plan wedding
-Donna Maria
-Gretchen
-Call Cyndee
-Take Titus
-Get down to beeswax
-Lillian sings
-Walk to town
-The script
-He knows it
-Karate
-Go with Lillian
-Lose it
-Babysit
-Read to the baby
-Woodland banquet
-‘Splode him
-Spare him
December 11, 2019
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Clint Eastwood, Ian Gomez, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates, Nina Arianda, Olivia Wilde, Paul Walter Hauser, Richard Jewell, Sam Rockwell
CREDIT: Claire Folger/Warner Bros.
Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Nina Arianda, Ian Gomez
Director: Clint Eastwood
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Rating: R for Some Language (Including Innuendo) and a Bloody Crime Scene
Release Date: December 13, 2019
The real life stories that Clint Eastwood chooses for his films make me think he wants to say something grand about society at large. But then he tells them in such a way that makes it clear that he is just talking about this one particular story, especially in the case of Richard Jewell. (That statement comes with the caveat that there are several moments that viewers can extrapolate to draw their own broader conclusions.) During the 1996 Summer Olympics, the title fellow discovered a backpack packed with a bomb while working security at a concert at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. After alerting authorities and helping spectators clear the area, he was initially hailed as a hero in the media. But then the FBI leaked information to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicating that Jewell was considered a suspect, leading to him being constantly hounded by an invasive investigation and a phalanx of relentless reporters outside his home.
Jewell fits the profile of a particular type of lone bomber terrorist: white, male, former military or law enforcement, or wannabe law enforcement, and presumably with a hero complex fantasy wherein he plants a deadly weapon so that he can save people by “discovering” it. Paul Walter Hauser plays Jewell with a confidence and sureness of himself that keeps underlining how much he fits that profile. He has a cache of hunting weapons, a hollowed-out grenade from a military surplus store that he uses as a paperweight, and a deep knowledge of terrorism and anti-terrorism techniques that he is perfectly happy to regale his friends and family with. He’s a bit naive, but not so naive that he doesn’t recognize when public opinion has wildly swung against him. He may not be the culprit, but that by no means absolves all people like him. The message of this one movie is that in this one case, this one guy who fits the profile isn’t guilty.
So when considered as just one particular story that doesn’t deign to have broader implications, Richard Jewell is a riveting tale of someone who was forced to stand up for himself in a way he never thought he would need to. The most crucial scene happens when his lawyer (a nimble and righteously angry Sam Rockwell) exhorts him to stop being so meek and get upset. Hauser lets down his armor and reveals that he could hardly be any angrier, but that doesn’t mean he can change who he fundamentally is as a person. And that is someone who has always believed in the virtue of respecting authority and is now coming to grips with how that authority can be weaponized against the wrong person. Richard Jewell is just one guy, and this one big thing just happened to happen to him. Somehow he survived, and Clint Eastwood was happy to let us know how.
Richard Jewell is Recommended If You Like: The Mule, Classic Olympics highlights, Vintage news clips
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Suspicious Backpacks
November 11, 2019
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Ben McKenzie, Corey Stoll, Daniel J. Jones, Dominic Fumusa, Jake Silberman, Jennifer Morrison, Jon Hamm, Matthew Rhys, Maura Tierney, Michael C. Hall, Scott Z. Burns, Ted Levine, The Report, Tim Blake Nelson
CREDIT: Atsushi Nishijima/Amazon Studios
Starring: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Morrison, Tim Blake Nelson, Ben McKenzie, Jake Silberman, Matthew Rhys, Ted Levine, Michael C. Hall, Maura Tierney, Dominic Fumusa, Corey Stoll
Director: Scott Z. Burns
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Rating: R for Depictions of Torture
Release Date: November 15, 2019 (Limited)
There’s a moment in The Report that might be what most viewers remember it for, in which the 2012 hunt-for-Osama bin Laden thriller Zero Dark Thirty is called out and basically scoffed at for implying that torture led to valuable intel in the war on terrorism. Despite this apparent antagonism, The Report and Zero Dark Thirty work well as companion pieces, offering somewhat parallel stories in the defining geopolitical conflict of the twenty-first century. I believe that the message of Zero Dark regarding the efficacy of torture is more complicated than any binary interpretation, and I actually think that the people behind The Report would agree, at least in terms of the existence of complications in the world. When a narrative is about a real-life group of people poring over thousands of government documents for months on end, you tend to find that the answers aren’t always quite so straightforward. But two things remain clear: torture is bad, and the people deserve to know that it happened.
The primary document sifter is Daniel Jones (Adam Driver), who was working as a Senate staffer for California Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) while he investigated the CIA’s systematic use of torture in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The job is thuddingly labor-intensive, but Daniel is fully devoted to the task, and besides, the real challenge for him is getting this information out to the public over the protests of the forces who would prefer it be as redacted as possible or just completely hidden. The Report serves the entertainment value of presenting someone doing his job supremely competently, but it is also a bit of a slog. It is not exactly fun to spend so much time in windowless basements with Daniel, and his co-workers let him know that it’s not so great for him either. But for the good of mankind, this information needed to get out one way or the other. And if this story needed to be jazzed up into a big-screen adventure for people to become more aware of this miscarriage of decency, then The Report ought to be considered a succcess at least on that score.
The Report is Recommended If You Like: The truth being made public
Grade: 3000 of 5000 Documents
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