‘Roofman’ Brings the Energy to Blow the Top Off Multiplexes

October 10, 2025

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Is the Roofman on fire? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out! (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)

Starring: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, Lakeith Stanfield, Ben Mendelsohn, Uzo Aduba, Juno Temple, Emory Cohen, Melonie Diaz, Molly Price, Lily Collias, Kennedy Moyer, Tony Revolori, Jimmy O. Yang

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Running Time: 126 Minutes

Rating: R for A Brief Sex Scene and a Goofy Nude Scene (Not During the Sex)

Release Date: October 10, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Roofman presents Channing Tatum embodying the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, whose nom de criminality serves as the title of this film. We meet Jeffrey as a restless Army veteran who wants to be a better provider for his kids. So he resorts to robbing a series of McDonald’s in the Charlotte, North Carolina area by cutting through their roofs during their unoccupied hours. Eventually he’s caught and charged for his spree, but soon enough he escapes prison and hides out in a local Toys “R” Us store to plan his next big move. He somehow manages to evade capture long enough to assume a new identity and start dating a single mother named Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) that he meets after wandering into a church one day. As his wild story presses on apace, we’re left to wonder: maybe he’ll decide to settle down and live an honest life. Or perhaps instead, all his misdeeds will actually finally catch up to him.

What Made an Impression?: I’m going to do this review a little differently than my usual style by starting off with the question: Should YOU want to be the Roofman? I won’t keep you in suspense, though. The answer is: no, you should not.

So is that the end of the review? Well, let’s get a little more nuanced. By most accounts that I’ve come across, the real Jeffrey Manchester is fantastically charming, and Tatum certainly plays him that way. I found myself instinctively rooting for everything to work out in his favor, but then I caught myself enough to recognize that that’s not exactly the most defensible position. Jeffrey doesn’t just break the letter of the law, he also breaks the spirit. And while he does his best to eschew violence in the course of his misdeeds, some people do get hurt. Plus, he’s not exactly a Robin Hood where only Billionaire Big Business is getting hurt. So if you do find yourself rooting for him, I’d recommend redirecting that energy towards hoping that he’s given the opportunity to atone for his schemes and put his talents to better use.

And the Roofman does indeed have some considerable talents. He’s observant, thoughtful, and fun to be around. The trouble is, of course, that he too often utilizes those qualities in service of some very combustible misconduct. This is a tricky movie to watch, partly because it’s also a very easy movie to watch. On the surface level, it’s charming and exciting, which could lure you into a trap of glamorizing some bad behavior. Now, it’s not terribly difficult to avoid that trap, but what’s perhaps a little more challenging is finding the right balance when sorting out the admirable and the heinous within someone like Jeffrey Manchester. It makes sense that he found his way to a house of worship, because he’s clearly a sinner who also has some amount of desire to be better. You don’t have to be religious yourself to be inspired by this movie, but whatever your preferred belief system (or lack thereof), I think one of the biggest takeaways from this story is the eternal power of grace, even when (or perhaps especially when) things get out of hand.

Grade: 4 out of 5 Peanut M&Ms

‘Civil War,’ or How to Be a Photojournalist

April 11, 2024

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Civil War, what is it good for? (CREDIT: Murray Close/A24)

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons

Director: Alex Garland

Running Time: 109 Minutes

Rating: R for Gunfire, Grenades, and Piles of Dead Bodies

Release Date: April 12, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: The president of the United States refuses to relinquish power in the face of incoming secessionary forces. Meanwhile, a group of journalists sniffs out an opportunity, as they’re going to barge right into the White House for an interview. Nobody outside of the commander-in-chief’s inner circle has talked to him in who knows how long. But they’re warned that it’s essentially a suicide mission. The administration considers the press an enemy of the people, and the area in and around Washington, D.C. is the deadliest part of the country, or what’s left of it. Nevertheless, they feel compelled to make the trip, out of a sense of duty, or ambition, or steely commitment to the truth, or some combination of the above.

What Made an Impression?: Thought Number One: The fact that Civil War takes place in a near-future United States is kind of beside the point. The landscape matters in a logistical sense, but the underlying principles would remain the same no matter what the setting or how much it is or isn’t based in reality. Fundamentally, this movie is a dramatized how-to guide for how to be a wartime photojournalist. As veteran photog Lee (Kirsten Dunst), her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura), ambitious youngster Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), and Lee and Joel’s mentor Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) embed themselves in combat zones, they’re just as vulnerable to bullets and bombs as any soldier or civilian. The big block “PRESS” letters on their vests and van are supposed to relay a message of objective neutrality, one that most (but not all) of the combatants respect.
Thought Number Two: Any viewer expecting Civil War to be a specific warning about the current state of affairs in the United States will likely end up disappointed. This country may be more polarized than it’s been in decades, but the exact nature of that polarization is not exactly reflected in writer/director Alex Garland’s vision. This is simply an alternate possibility of what that division could look like, one that Garland thoroughly declines to offer any explanation for. Even the president (Nick Offerman) remains nameless! Once I accepted that Civil War was going to be light on backstory, I could appreciate its cinéma vérité qualities. Still, I was frustrated by the impenetrable characterization of the people that we do get to know. Although, that was perhaps by design, as Lee and Joel have been hardened by the lesson that they must subsume themselves within their jobs. Weirdly enough, that loss of personality is enough to remind me of how urgent it is to avoid any actual civil war.

Civil War is Recommended If You Like: Primary (1960), Abandoned highway cinematography, Ominous road trips

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Alliances

‘The Power of the Dog’ is Not for the Dogs

January 11, 2022

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The Power of the Dog (CREDIT: Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jesse Plemons, Thomasin McKenzie

Director: Jane Campion

Running Time: 126 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: November 17, 2021 (Theaters)/December 1, 2021 (Netflix)

I’m pretty sure there weren’t any dogs in The Power of the Dog. Actually, now that I think about it, there may have been a few mutts running around the ranch. But none of them had any speaking parts! (Or barking parts, for that matter.) Yes, I know the title is a metaphor from the Bible, so I wasn’t genuinely expecting any unforgettable canine thespian turns. But still! At least Kirsten Dunst is also around, though she spends most of her time drunk and in bed. What up with that?! Anyway, I didn’t think Benedict Cumberbatch’s character was too bad. Certainly not the friendliest, but I could deal with him.

Grade: I Do Not Want to Live in 1925 Montana

This Is a Movie Review: Could Kirsten Dunst Shock Wood if ‘Woodshock’ Could Be Good? (Spoiler Alert: It’s Not)

September 20, 2017

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CREDIT: A24

This review was originally posted on News Cult in September 2017.

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Pilou Asbæk, Joe Cole, Lorelei Linklater, Jack Kilmer

Directors: Kate and Laura Mulleavy

Running Time: 100 Minutes

Rating: R for Drugs, I Guess?

Release Date: September 22, 2017 (Limited)

The headline for this review was originally going to be “‘Woodshock’ Strands Kirsten Dunst in a Bunch of Random Images,” but then I decided that it would be much more appropriate to go with something nonsensical so as to keep with the spirit of the film. The directorial debut from fashion designer sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy feels like the creation of people who have never seen a movie before and only understand the medium theoretically. It essentially amounts to an academic (or anti-academic) exercise to determine the meaning of “montage.”

The plot, such as there is one, follows the perpetually on-edge life of Theresa (Dunst) and her husband Keith (Pilou Asbæk). She has recently lost her mother and is probably suffering from depression. They run a marijuana dispensary together … I think. People’s jobs and relationships to each other are not always clear. There is a tragic accident that neither the characters nor the film can come to terms with in any meaningful way.

At some point, according to the synopsis, Theresa ingests an especially potent mind-altering substance. I genuinely do not remember this, though, probably because there is no noticeable shift in the nature of the film at any point. There are some hallucinatory images, a few of which manage to be striking regardless of the context (most notably a house hovering a few feet above the ground amidst a shock of light). But if the drug has any noticeable effect on Theresa, it is perhaps in how it makes her suddenly unable to take a shower or bath. Good lord, there is a huge chunk of the running time devoted to Kirsten Dunst standing still in front of the bathroom mirror.

It is worth wondering why Woodshock fails so spectacularly while similarly subjective and inscrutable works like the oeuvre of David Lynch manage to be so powerfully affecting. Perhaps it is because even if it is not clear what the meaning of the latter is, it is not hard to intuit that there is some meaning. Maybe the Mulleavys do have something worthwhile to say, but they do not yet know how to get that across in cinematic terms.

Woodshock is Recommended If You Like: 2001, but like, on earth; Upstream Color, minus the auteurist bona fides

Grade: 1.5 out of 5 Pleasant Summer Evenings

This Is a Movie Review: ‘The Beguiled’ Proves Sofia Coppola Still Knows How to Weave a Spell

June 22, 2017

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This review was originally published on News Cult in June 2017.

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning

Director: Sofia Coppola

Running Time: 94 Minutes

Rating: R for Natural, Untamed Sexuality

Release Date: June 23, 2017 (Limited)

Comparing films unfavorably to sitcoms is a useful technique in the critic’s arsenal. It is typically applied to movies set in the present day that features characters just hanging out, with few, if any, aspirations beyond that. It is rarely, if ever, applied to films that take place 100 or more years ago. Part of that is because television did not exist then, so the comparison would not make much sense. But it is also perhaps because if a period piece were to achieve a sitcom-esque vibe, it would actually be praiseworthy instead of ill-advised. Weirdly enough, this is how I found myself thinking while watching Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled, which achieves that sitcom vibe in its quieter moments, which are plenty.

It is not just the characters who are beguiled, but also the audience, as the premise is not one obviously ripe for humor, at least not of the good-natured variety. Based on a novel by Thomas P. Cullinan (previously adapted into a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood), The Beguiled tracks the volatility of human behavior in a small corner of a world that has fallen out of its natural order. Set during the Civil War, the film finds injured Union Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell) discovered by the residents of a Southern girls’ boarding school. They debate whether to give him up to passing Confederate soldiers or provide him shelter out of the kindness of their hearts. They choose to let him stay, though it is never fully clear why. The firm, but ultimately vague stance from headmistress Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) sets the tone for the tension that permeates the rest of the film.

The sitcom vibes shine strongest in the middle stretch when the ladies and McBurney have brokered a peace, forming the premise for a show that would be titled something like The Southern Belles and the Yankee Soldier or Everybody Lusts Burnie. But like so many sitcoms, there is a layer of psychopathy or some other propensity for violence lurking just beneath the charm and just rearing to burst out. On TV, it usually never comes to that, at least not to the point of no return. But The Beguiled is all about exploring the scariest implications of a national house divided against itself crossed with burgeoning and repressed sexuality. It is as combustible as it sounds. The passionate ways of nature can be tamped down only so much by human control, and each cast member has their own beguiling and beguiled way of summoning their most passionate whims to demonstrate why that is.

The Beguiled is Recommended If You Like: Cold Mountain, Interpersonal gender dynamics, Double Indemnity

Grade: 4 out of 5 Mushrooms

This Is a Movie Review: Hidden Figures

December 23, 2016

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hidden-figures-janelle-monae-taraji-p-henson-octavia-spencer

This review was originally published on News Cult in December 2016.

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Kirsten Dunst

Director: Theodore Melfi

Running Time: 126 Minutes

Rating: PG for the Everyday Realities of Racism

Release Date: December 25, 2016 (Limited), Expands Nationwide January 6, 2017

Hidden Figures tells the true stories of African-American mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who were essential employees to NASA during the Space Race. Let me reiterate: this is a TRUE story, but somehow these ladies are not an iconic part of the fabric of American history. Surely, there is institutional sexism and racism at play here, but less insidiously, there is also the fact that most workers at NASA who remained on the ground are not household names. But also, come on! – Katherine Johnson was John Glenn’s trusty confidant, relying on her for accurate calculations during his time in the stars.

As Hidden Figures kicks off, we know we are in good hands. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe (Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson, respectively) are stuck on the side of the road due to a broken-down car while on their way to work. I think I speak for most of humanity when I say I would happily watch these ladies just hang out and do anything. The white Virginia traffic cop who pulls up to inspect their situation apparently feels the same way. This scene looks like it is about to play out like a typical example of civil rights-era Southern racism, but instead the officer is impressed that these ladies know their science and offers them an escort service.

This is how much of the film plays out. The racism and sexism these “hidden figures” experience are institutional and not personal except insofar as any instance of discrimination is personal. Everyone in this story wants to see America succeed above the clouds, and these women meet resistance only when their efforts get in the way of standard practice. For Henson, that means a hilarious/heartbreaking routine of racing 20 minutes each way across the NASA campus to the nearest colored restroom. Indignities like these are eventually beaten into submission, and the crowd-pleasing meter is constantly at its highest level.

I would be remiss not to mention the wholesome and sweet love story between Katherine, a single mother widower, and her second husband Jim. I don’t know if the real-life Johnsons are as gorgeous as Taraji P. Henson and Mahershala Ali, but I am convinced that they must have been. Otherwise, Henson and Ali are miracle workers.

Hidden Figures is the sort of movie that you take your mother to see because you know she is going to love it. It is also the type of movie whose relatively unambitious filmmaking techniques you might criticize, or at least excuse. But in the case of a story as inspiring as this one, that feels unnecessarily petty. Hidden Figures does not gussy itself up, because it will be inspiring even without all the frills. Besides, putting on such airs would be anathema to its humble origins.

Hidden Figures is Recommended If You Like: Apollo 13, A League of Their Own, The Help

Grade: 3.75 out 5 Hammers to Racism