I Have Something Important to Say to ‘Over Your Dead Body,’ ‘Mother Mary’, and ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’

April 30, 2026

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Dead Bodies are OVER! (CREDIT: Independent Film Company)

Over Your Dead Body

Starring: Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis

Director: Jorma Taccone

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: April 24, 2026 (Theaters)

Mother Mary

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, FKA Twigs, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Isaura Barbé-Brown, Alba Baptista, Sian Clifford

Director: David Lowery

Running Time: 112 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: April 17, 2026 (Theaters)

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

Starring: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, Natalie Grace, May Calamawy, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy, Verónica Falcón, Hayat Kamille, May Elghety

Director: Lee Cronin

Running Time: 134 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: April 10, 2026 (Theaters)

I recently had the pleasure of seeing three different movies that all had me sputtering “What the heck is going on?” to varying degrees and to varying ends. Specifically, I’m talking about the deadly black comedy Over Your Dead Body, the pop star phantasmagoria Mother Mary, and a monstrous reimagining in the form of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.

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‘Opus’ Doesn’t Quite Match the Loftiness of Its Title, But It’s Still Something-Something

March 27, 2025

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Two of the cast members from the movie Opus are in this photographic image (CREDIT: Anna Kooris/A24)

Starring: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, Amber Midthunder, Stephanie Suganami, Young Manzino, Tatanka Means, Tony Hale

Director: Mark Anthony Green

Running Time: 104 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: March 14, 2025 (Theaters)

I don’t want to be a member of the cult at the heart of Opus, but I sure wish I could have been in the studio during those recording sessions! (John Malkovich has never sounded more impeccable.) The problem is twofold: I am opposed to cults in general, and also this particular cult’s goals are a little half-baked. It seems like they’re trying to achieve world domination by way of reawakening humanity’s artistic inspiration… good luck with all that.

Anyway, it was pretty fun while it lasted, minus all the killing. Make sure you listen to The Moretti EP!

Grade: NILE RODGERS AND THE-DREAM WROTE THE MUSIC!

Movie Review: Teenagers Who Just Want to Have Fun Get Caught Up in a Generation-Spanning Revenge Plot in ‘Ma,’ a Tonally Wild and Ambitious Horror Mash-Up

May 29, 2019

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CREDIT: Universal Pictures

Starring: Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis, McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, Luke Evans, Gianni Paolo, Dante Brown, Missi Pyle, Allison Janney, Kyanna Simone Simpson

Director: Tate Taylor

Running Time: 99 Minutes

Rating: R for A Multitude of Torturous Weapons, Sloppy Teen Partying, and Deeply Disturbing Secrets

Release Date: May 31, 2019

In terms of how closely its advertising matches the actual product, Ma fits in one of the most satisfying of cinematic molds. It is very much the movie that the trailers have promised you, but it is also oh so much more. I am reluctant to go into any more detail because of how satisfied I was to discover everything as it was revealed to me. Even my “Recommended If You Like” section below is a bit of a land mine, as the mere mention of predecessors that Ma resembles could constitute a spoiler. But suffice it to say that in this stew of theoretically clashing flavors, Octavia Spencer is more than able to handle all the tones and motivations she is required to convey.

It should go without saying that if you’re a high school student, it’s probably not the best idea to party in the basement of a random woman who you know only because she buys you alcohol. But teenagers are known for making boneheaded decisions, and Sue Ann’s (aka Ma’s) house seems a lot safer than the alternative of drinking in the woods. Also, these kids don’t realize that they are characters in a horror movie and thus being lured into a trap. Furthermore, Sue Ann is remarkably savvy about understanding the way young people communicate, both in person and through social media. Just when you think she is going to go in for the kill right away, you realize that she is actually playing the tangled, multifarious long game. Ultimately, she becomes reckless in ways that threaten her upper hand but that keep the audience satisfyingly stunned and entertained. This is a wild, risk-taking movie that takes inspiration from plenty of classics that have come before it but that also stands on its own as a truly unique and deadly specimen.

Ma is Recommended If You Like: Carrie, Misery, Saw, Sharp Objects

Grade: 4 out of 5 Cases of Booze