August 27, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Allison Janney, Andy Samberg, Austin Butler, Bad Bunny, Belinda Bromilow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Carol Kane, Caught Stealing, Darren Aronofsky, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Delaney Quinn, Griffin Dunne, Hala Finley, Jamie Demetriou, Jay Roach, Kate McKinnon, Liev Schreiber, Matt Smith, Ncuti Gatwa, Nikita Kukushkin, Olivia Colman, Ollie Robinson, Regina King, Sunita Mani, The Roses, Vincent D'Onofrio, Wells Rapaport, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Zoë Chao, Zoë Kravitz
A Collage of Two Movies Coming Out in Theaters in Late Summer 2025 (CREDIT: Niko Tavernise/Columbia Pictures; Searchlight Pictures/Screenshot)
Caught Stealing
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Nikita Kukushkin, Carol Kane, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Rating: R for Reckless Violence, Some Drunken Debauchery, and a Little Bit of Sex
Release Date: August 29, 2025 (Theaters)
The Roses
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Sunita Mani, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, Hala Finley, Wells Rapaport, Delaney Quinn, Ollie Robinson, Belinda Bromilow, Allison Janney
Director: Jay Roach
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: R for Rather Colorful Language
Release Date: August 29, 2025 (Theaters)
Labor Day is typically known as the unofficial end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, even though technically autumn doesn’t really arrive until the final third of September. Either way, it’s a time for altering routines and reflecting upon what you’ve been up to the past few months. In that spirit of looking back, we’ve got a couple of new releases for Labor Day Weekend 2025 that are both throwbacks in their own particular ways.
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February 13, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Antonio Banderas, Ben Whishaw, Carla Tous, Dougal Wilson, Emily Mortimer, Hayley Atwell, Hughe Bonneville, Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Olivia Colman, Paddington, Paddington in Peru, Samuel Joslin
Guess who! And where! (CREDIT: StudioCanal/Columbia Pictures)
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Hughe Bonneville, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Julie Walters, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent, Carla Tous, Imelda Staunton, Hayley Atwell
Director: Dougal Wilson
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Rating: PG for Lethal Dangers Faced with Politeness and the Occasional Hard Stare
Release Date: February 14, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Paddington (voiced once again by Ben Whishaw) finally has a British passport! And just in time, as there’s something terribly off with his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton). So our adorable marmalade-loving hero treks off to the Home for Retired Bears in his native Peru along with Mrs. Bird (Julie Waters) and his adopted Brown family (Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer [subbing in for Sally Hawkins], Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin). But when they arrive, it turns out that Aunt Lucy has vanished without a trace, apparently to seek some treasure deep in the jungle, possibly even the golden lost city of El Dorado. That catches the attention of riverboat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) – he’s compelled to lead them the way, while she worries about how talk of treasure affects his mental health. Meanwhile, the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) at the retired bear home offers several clues to guide the Browns along the way, while also acting a little suspiciously.
What Made an Impression?: Always Room for Growth: If you can’t get enough of cave- and jungle-filled adventures like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Goonies, then you’ve probably been hoping for Paddington to finally head in this direction since the very beginning of this franchise. There’s plenty of death-defying action to satiate that desire, but I found myself most pleased by the consistent pleasures we’ve come to expect from the Browns. The pattern is well-established: Paddington’s narration zeroes right in on the opportunities for growth that each of his family members faces at the beginning of this latest adventure. If you’ve seen the previous films, then there aren’t really any surprises this time about each of the Browns’ journeys. But one of this series’ great insights is that the development into richer, fuller versions of ourselves never ends, and it’s lovely to see these folks recognize exactly how they’re supposed to answer that calling. And to get specific about one particular detail, Brown patriarch Henry triple laminates his latest risk manual, and that makes all the difference.
Dress-Up Time: The Cult of Marmalade is real and wide-ranging. When Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal bonded over their love of Paddington 2 in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it was a strikingly accurate microcosm that captured how the wider cinephile world feels about this very special bear. With talent like Banderas and Colman populating the latest supporting cast, it’s abundantly clear just how inviting it is to play in this sandbox. Hugh Grant’s turn in #2 as actor-turned-thief Phoenix Buchanan was a career-capping performance, and I bet that approximately 99% of his peers hope to one day don a similarly silly series of costumes and make a just-as-indelible impression on the Paddington-going public. Hunter Cabot and the Reverend Mother don’t quite manage to be as iconic as Phoenix, but their gameness still goes a long way in maintaining such a pleasant little corner of the multiplex.
Paddington in Peru is Recommended If You Like: Movies Where It Feels Like Someone Really Could Die Even Though You Know Nobody Will Since It’s Just Rated PG
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Llamas
January 29, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adam Driver, Alan Tudyk, Alec Newman, All of Us Strangers, Amber Heard, Andrew Haigh, Andrew Scott, Angelique Cabral, Aquaman, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Ariana DeBose, ason Momoa, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Calah Lane, Callum Turner, Charlotte Ritchie, Chris Buck, Chris Diamantopoulos, Chris Pine, Claire Foy, Courtney Henggeler, DCEU, Della Saba, Dolph Lundgren, Ellie White, Evan Peters, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Ferrari, Freya Parker, Gabriel Leone, George Clooney, Giuseppe Festinese, Hadley Robinson, Harris Dickinson, Harvey Guillén, Holt McCallany, Hugh Grant, Isy Suttie, Jack Mulhern, Jack O'Connell, James Wan, James Wolk, Jamie Bell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Jeremy Allen White, Jim Carter, Joel Edgerton, Jon Rudnitsky, Keegan-Michael Key, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Lily James, Luke Slattery, Martin Short, Mathew Baynton, Matt Lucas, Maura Tierney, Michael Mann, Murray McArthur, Natasha Rothwell, Nicole Kidman, Niko Vargas, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Wilson, Paul King, Paul Mescal, Penélope Cruz, Peter Guinness, Phil Wang, Rakhee Thakrar, Ramy Youssef, Randall Park, Rich Fulcher, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawins, Sam Strike, Sarah Gadon, Sean Durkin, Shailene Woodley, Simon Farnaby, Sophie Winkleman, Stanley Simons, Temuera Morrison, The Boys in the Boat, The Iron Claw, Thomas Elms, Tim FitzHigham, Timothée Chalamet, Tom Davis, Tom Varey, Tracy Ifeachor, Victor Garber, Will Coban, Wish, Wonka, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Zac Efron
CREDIT: NEON
Heading into the Christmas break, it seemed like I had a lot more new movies to catch up on than usual. Or maybe it was actually a normal amount, and I was just cataloging my filmgoing plans a little more closely than I typically do. Either way, it took me about a month, but I’ve finally checked off everything that was on my to-watch list. So let’s run down some quick thoughts on all of them!
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December 19, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anthony Mendez, Antonio Banderas, Betsy Sodaro, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Florence Pugh, Harvey Guillén, John Mulaney, Kevin McCann, Olivia Colman, Puss in Boots, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Ray Winstone, Salma Hayek, Samson Kayo, Shrek, Wagner Moura
When You Wish Upon a Puss in Boots… (CREDIT: Dreamworks Animation)
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, John Mulaney, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, Wagner Moura, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Anthony Mendez, Kevin McCann, Betsy Sodaro
Director: Joel Crawford
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: PG for Cartoon Kitty Catastrophes
Release Date: December 21, 2022 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: A talking cat? A talking, swashbuckling cat?! Well, yes indeed. We’ve known this debonair furball for years at this point. Decades even. He lives in a fairy tale world where plenty of the animals are anthropomorphized, after all. Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) has had no trouble making a name for himself. But alas, he seems to be losing a bit of his mojo lately. And when you’re a feline, that means having only one of your reputed nine lives left to spare. But this being a fairy tale world and all, there exist methods for magical restoration. So when Puss hears about the existence of a Wishing Star, he naturally wants to get his claws on it. But he’s not the only one, as Jack Horner (John Mulaney), Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the three bears (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo), and Puss’ old flame Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) all have their own plans to procure the star’s powers. Also, Harvey Guillén voices a dog.
What Made an Impression?: If the only Shrek film you’ve seen previously was the first one, you could be forgiven for not realizing that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish takes place in the same universe. Sure, both of them are populated by fairy tale characters, but their modus operandi are totally different. Where the green ogre was irreverent, his feline colleague is more purely adventurous. The likes of Jack Horner, Goldi, and Pinocchio are thein window dressing in a sense, with their cultural histories mostly beside the point. The Last Wish‘s spacey climax on the Wishing Star feels like something out of an LSD trip, or a Super Mario video game, which is to say: not at all what I was expecting.
In that vein, The Last Wish actually reminded me of Halloween Ends, insofar as they’re both latter-day franchise entries with confoundingly unpredictable narrative left turns. In both cases, it’s plenty fascinating, and I suspect it will be easier to get away with this time around, since Puss doesn’t have to bear the weight of expectations that Michael Myers does. If his creators want to make his latest adventure more fantastical than any corner of the Shrek universe has ever been, then there’s really no reason not to. It certainly gives the voice cast something new to bite into, to the point that John Mulaney appears to be experiencing Heath Ledger-as-Joker-level glee in his revolution of a classic character. There’s room to color outside the lines here, and I can’t complain about that.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is Recommended If You Like: Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch
Grade: 3 out of 5 Swords
March 31, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Colin Firth, Eva Husson, Glenda Jackson, Josh O'Connor, Mothering Sunday, Odessa Young, Olivia Colman, Patsy Ferran, Sope Dirisu
Mothering Sunday (CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics/Screenshot)
Starring: Odessa Young, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Olivia Colman, Sope Dirisu, Patsy Ferran, Glenda Jackson
Director: Eva Husson
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: March 25, 2022 (Theaters)
For a good stretch of Mothering Sunday, Odessa Young walks around a big English country estate while totally naked. She’s by herself, just exploring the place, luxuriating in her own body. There’s a few moments when it cuts to some other characters and you think she’s about to be discovered, but that’s just misleading editing, because they’re in some other time and/or place. Anyway, it’s the most long-lasting incidental nudity I can ever remember seeing in a movie, and it had me thinking, “Well, I guess she’s comfortable.” Anyway, her character starts out as a maid and eventually becomes a highly acclaimed writer. Not a bad way for a life to turn out. Elsewhere, Colin Firth and Olivia Colman play characters who get very emotional.
Grade: 3 Typewriters out of No Clothes
October 30, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Ava Morse, Cullen McCarthy, Ed Helms, Jack Dylan Grazer, Jean-Philippe Vine, Kylie Cantrall, Liam Payne, Marcus Scribner, Olivia Colman, Ricardo Hurtado, Rob Delaney, Ron's Gone Wrong, Ruby Wax, Sarah Smith, Thomas Barbusca, Zach Galifianakis
CREDIT: 20th Century Studios/Screenshot
Starring: Jack Dylan Grazer, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Olivia Colman, Rob Delaney, Olivia Colman, Kylie Cantrall, Ricardo Hurtado, Cullen McCarthy, Ava Morse, Marcus Scribner, Thomas Barbusca, Liam Payne, Ruby Wax
Directors: Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe Vine
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: October 22, 2021 (Theaters)
Often when reviewing a movie, I ask, “Do I want to do what the title tells me to do?” And Ron’s Gone Wrong might just be the perfect movie to do that with. Here’s the deal: do I want to go as wrong as Ron? Heck yeah, I do! In fact, I think that’s pretty much the message of the movie. Most of the cool new robot buddies in this flick are basically designed to invade kids’ privacy, but Ron’s code is a little wonky, so he’s more concerned about being a good friend. It takes him a while to get it right, but quite frankly, truly memorable friendship requires a little chaos. Thank you for being a friend, Ron, and for showing us all the way to be wrong.
Grade: 4 Rights out of 5 Wrongs
April 15, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anthony Hopkins, Florian Zeller, Imogen Poots, Mark Gatiss, Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, The Father
The Father (CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics/YouTube Screenshot)
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Imogen Poots, Rufus Sewell, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss
Director: Florian Zeller
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: February 26, 2021
Whenever I think about The Father, I can’t help but pronounce it the way that Mike Myers does when he encounters Marv Albert in the “Dieter’s Dream” SNL sketch (“Fah-thuh!”, although for some reason I add a “z” i.e., “Fah-zhuh”). Weirdly enough, that’s an apt comparison, as Florian Zeller’s film is pretty much equally surreal as the avant-garde German talk show host’s trip into the subconscious. Apparently, the way to make a movie about dementia exciting instead of a total bummer is to arrange it according to the whims of the dementia-addled mind. It’s rough to see Anthony (Hopkins) losing his sense of reality, but it’s fascinating to be bent back and forth by the facial mismatches and temporal-spatial distortions he’s experiencing. In the absence of a cure, maybe embracing the absurdity is the best way to handle something as disorienting as dementia. At the very least, it worked for this movie.
Grade: 4.0 out of Dec. 31 Missing Watches
February 26, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Alice Cooper, Anthony Hopkins, Colin Jost, Corona Can't Keep a Good Queen Down, Detroit Stories, Golden Globes, Olivia Colman, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Father, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, The Vigil, Tom & Jerry
Tom & Jerry (CREDIT: Warner Bros/YouTube 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
–The Father (Theaters) – Olivia Colman plays Anthony Hopkins’ father
–The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (March 4 on Paramount+) – This is the day CBS All Access rebrands as Paramount+.
–Tom & Jerry (Theaters and HBO Max) – Colin Jost in the Wedding of the Century!
–The Vigil (Theaters and On Demand)
TV
–RuPaul’s Drag Race: Corona Can’t Keep a Good Queen Down (February 26 on VH1)
-78th Golden Globe Awards (February 28 on NBC)
Music
-Alice Cooper, Detroit Stories – Loved him on The Muppet Show; glad to see he’s still making music.
November 21, 2018
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Emma Stone, Joe Alwyn, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos
CREDIT: Yorgos Lanthimos/Twentieth Century Fox
This review was originally published on News Cult in November 2018.
Starring: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Rating: R for A Very Sexual Royal England
Release Date: November 23, 2018
The hype for The Favourite indicates that it is not your typical period royal court drama, which is to be expected, given that it is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek auteur behind such clinically chilling visions as The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. And while The Favourite is certainly an oddity within the genre, that does not mean it is totally anachronistic. Lanthimos’ version is probably not an exact reflection of how the people within the orbit of the British Queen Anne spoke and behaved some 300+ years ago, but it does not seem impossible that they could have acted that way. People use certain four-letter words that are seldom heard from movie characters with the poofiest wigs and dresses, but these are words that have been around for centuries and surely some people were using them back then. Besides, The Favourite is not especially concerned with historical accuracy; the story behind it all is just inspiration for Lanthimos to craft his own devilishly compelling tale.
The most reasonable way to think of The Favourite is as a showcase for its three lead actresses (who get a little bit of help along the way from a few dudes), who have rarely, if ever, been better. Olivia Colman is Anne, hobbled by gout and occasional indecisiveness, perhaps more than a little manipulative in how she courts favor, but breathtakingly formidable once she has made up her mind. Rachel Weisz is Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, close advisor (and much more) to the queen. She prides herself on being ten strategic steps ahead of everyone else, which is her greatest strength, even when it appears to be her downfall. Her wits allow her to get out of any sticky situation, up to and including kidnapping by a brothel. And Emma Stone is Abigail, Rachel’s cousin and new arrival to the court. She initially appears to be so unfailingly kind that it makes her a little stupid, but ultimately it is clear that she is a full-fledged ingratiator. Stone has never before immersed herself in such a dark persona. If Lanthimos has done his job right, and I think he has, your loyalties will constantly switch along with the characters to the point that you just want to applaud everyone.
The Favourite is Recommended If You Like: Amadeus, All About Eve, Persona
Grade: 4 out of 5 Powdered Wigs
November 8, 2017
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Agatha Christie, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi, Hercule Poirot, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Leslie Odom Jr., Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Marwan Kenzari, Michelle Pfeiffer, Murder on the Orient Express, Murder on the Orient Express 2017, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe
CREDIT: Nicola Dove/Twentieth Century Fox
This review was originally posted on News Cult in November 2017.
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Marwan Kenzari, Olivia Colman, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Stab Wounds and Attempted Gun Wounds
Release Date: November 10, 2017
Kenneth Branagh’s take on Hercule Poirot, one of the most famous and prolifically portrayed detectives in English literary history, is the sort of man who cannot enjoy his breakfast unless his two eggs are perfectly symmetrically arranged. As he puts, “I can only see the world as it should be.” His skill at identifying culprits so precisely derives from his distaste for his surroundings being askew in any capacity. And when a crime has been committed, things are certainly askew. For a Poirot newbie like myself, this thesis statement is clear and compelling enough. It points to a tradition that has led to a recently predominant style in which brilliant detectives do not fit on a normative intellectual scale.
As for how this version of this most classic of Poirot cases plays out, Branagh is eager to put his many new spins on locked room mystery tropes. But first, certain typical patterns are unavoidable. Each passenger must be introduced with just enough color to make everyone a legitimate suspect, and the camerawork must be painstakingly particular to note every cabin, door, and hidden compartment. But once the setup is through, there is fun to be had (or at least attempted) in mixing up expectations. Oftentimes, characters in these stories try to get away with little lies or hide pieces of their identities that ultimately prove to be quite telling. In this case, the experiment – and alas, mistake – is that everyone gives themselves away with such dishonesty.
A good mystery should be a few steps ahead of most of its viewers. Branagh does indeed pull that off, but he is also a few steps ahead of his own movie, which is not similarly advisable. The result is an end product in which the love for the genre is clear, but the volume at which it is being poked and prodded is too much weight to bear. Most of the performances are overly stiff, stuck in roles within roles in which the unnatural seams start to show. Only Michelle Pfeiffer manages to truly cut loose. Branagh’s formal openness is a good start, but ultimately a star-studded affair like this one requires much more lasting personalities to really hit.
Murder on the Orient Express is Recommended If You Like: Agatha Christie completism, Marvelous mustaches, the Michelle Pfeiffer Renaissance
Grade: 2.75 out of 5 Symmetrical Arrangements
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