August 6, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Damon Herriman, Dave Franco, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Fantastic Four, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, lison Brie, Mark Gatiss, Matt Shakman, Michael Shanks, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Pedro Pascal, Ralph Ineson, Sarah Niles, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Together, Vanessa Kirby
July at the Picture House (CREDIT: Germain McMicking/NEON; Marvel Entertainment/Screenshot)
Together
Starring: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman
Director: Michael Shanks
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: July 30, 2025 (Theaters)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne
Director: Matt Shakman
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: July 25, 2025 (Theaters)
More
December 23, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
A Complete Unknown, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Babygirl, Bill Skarsgård, Boyd Holbrook, Brian Tyree Henry, Charlie Tahan, Dan Fogler, De'Adre Aziza, Edward Norton, Eli Brown, Elle Fanning, Emma Corrin, Eriko Hatsune, James Mangold, Lily-Rose Depp, Michael Chernus, Monica Barbaro, Nicholas Hoult, Norbert Leo Butz, Nosferatu, Nosferatu 2024, Oluniké Adeliyi, P.J. Byrne, Rachel Morrison, Ralph Ineson, Robert Eggers, Ryan Destiny, Ryan Harris Brown, Sarah Allen, Scoot McNairy, Simon McBurney, The Fire Inside, Timothée Chalamet, Will Harrison, Willem Dafoe
Merry Christmas from the Movies! (CREDIT [Clockwise from Top Left]: Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features; Sabrina Lantos/Amazon MGM; A24; Macall Polay/Searchlight Pictures)
A Complete Unknown
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, Boyd Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, Dan Fogler, Norbert Leo Butz, Eriko Hatsune, P.J. Byrne, Will Harrison, Charlie Tahan, Ryan Harris Brown, Eli Brown, Michael Chernus
Director: James Mangold
Running Time: 141 Minutes
Rating: R for Arrogant Artist Behavior
Release Date: December 25, 2024 (Theaters)
Nosferatu
Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney
Director: Robert Eggers
Running Time: 132 Minutes
Rating: R for Ecstatic Sex and Bloodsucking
Release Date: December 25, 2024 (Theaters)
The Fire Inside
Starring: Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Oluniké Adeliyi, De’Adre Aziza, Sarah Allen
Director: Rachel Morrison
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Language, Jabs, and Hooks
Release Date: December 25, 2024 (Theaters)
The cinematic landscape at Christmas is typically dominated by franchise blockbusters and family-friendly flicks, with awards hopefuls also trying to make their way into the mix. But then there are also always some oddballs of various genres for anyone who prefers a more aggro or otherwise offbeat holiday. What’s interesting about December 25 this year is that all four of the wide releases arriving alongside Santa could be categorized in the alternative section. So which one of them should be your chaser after opening up all your presents? Or should you down some nog in preparation of a double feature? Here’s my take on the polar landscape.
More
April 6, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Andrea Arcangeli, Arkasha Stevenson, Bill Nighy, Charles Dance, Ishtar Currie Wilson, Maria Caballero, Nell Tiger Free, Nicole Sorace, Ralph Ineson, Sônia Braga, Tawfeek Barham, The First Omen
Is The First Omen a Good Omen? (CREDIT: 20th Century Studios/Screenshot)
Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sônia Braga, Bill Nighy, Tawfeek Barham, Maria Caballero, Nicole Sorace, Ishtar Currie Wilson, Andrea Arcangeli, Charles Dance
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: April 5, 2024 (Theaters)
The First Omen, the Antichrist did say
Was to certain poor sisters
In cobblestone streets and discos as they lay
Omen, Omen, Omen, Omen
Reborn is the cinema of anti-religion
I have to thank my Uncle Martin for inspiring this review. He’s been penning his own personal parody songs for years (such as “The Girl with Emphysema” instead of “The Girl from Ipanema,” and “Constipation” in the style of “Oklahoma”). Hopefully he’ll go see The First Omen so that we can collaborate to flesh out the rest of the lyrics for the theme song I’ve just concocted. And everybody else should go see The First Omen as well! Great horror!
Grade: 100 Antichrists out of 3 Birth Canals
October 25, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aaron Jackson, Allison Janney, Amar Chadha-Patel, Bowen Yang, Dicks: The Musical, Gareth Edwards, Gemma Chan, Godfrey Reggio, John David Washington, Josh Sharp, Ken Watanabe, Larry Charles, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Megan Mullally, Megan Thee Stallion, Mike Tyson, Nathan Lane, Once Within a Time, Ralph Ineson, Sturgill Simpson, The Creator
CREDIT: Oscilloscope Laboratories/Screenshot
The Creator
Starring: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Amar Chadha-Patel, Ralph Ineson
Director: Gareth Edwards
Running Time: 133 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 29, 2023 (Theaters)
More
April 17, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alex Essoe, Cornell S. John, Daniel Zovatto, Franco Nero, Julius Avery, Laurel Marsden, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Ralph Ineson, Russell Crowe, The Pope's Exorcist
Exorcists Gonna Exorcise (CREDIT: Jonathan Hession/Screen Gems/Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Starring: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Laurel Marsden, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Ralph Ineson, Franco Nero, Cornell S. John
Director: Julius Avery
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: April 14, 2023 (Theaters)
Well now, how about an entire series of Pope’s Exorcist movies?! My favorite part of this movie was discovering that Russell Crowe was playing the very real Father Gabriele Amorth. I’m guessing that this telling embellished the details, but I’m also sure that the actual padre lived quite a life. And even if he didn’t, his decades of encounters with the devil makes for a durable enough premise to pretend that he did for plenty of cinematic hours. So let’s get to it!
Grade: Good Enough Start, Now Let’s Give This Exorcist Some More Exorcisms
September 21, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Andrew Scott, Archie Renaux, Bella Ramsey, Billie Piper, Catherine Called Birdy, Dean-Charles Chapman, Isis Hainsworth, Joe Alwyn, Lena Dunham, Lesley Sharp, Michael Woolfitt, Paul Kaye, Ralph Ineson, Sophie Okonedo
Look at that Birdy fly! (CREDIT: Alex Bailey/© Amazon Content Services LLC)
Starring: Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper, Joe Alwyn, Dean Charles-Chapman, Paul Kaye, Lesley Sharp, Sophie Okonedo, Ralph Ineson, Michael Woolfitt, Isis Hainsworth, Archie Renaux
Director: Lena Dunham
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for The Power of Suggestion
Release Date: September 23, 2022 (Theaters)/October 7, 2022 (Amazon Prime Video)
What’s It About?: What was life like for a sassy, opinionated teenage girl in 1290 England? That’s what Catherine Called Birdy is here to let us know! Based on a 1994 children’s novel by Karen Cushman, it follows the always rambunctious days of the irrepressible Lady Catherine (Bella Ramsey), aka (you guessed it) “Birdy.” She’s an unmistakably independent young woman, but what does that even mean in a patriarchal medieval society? Despite her unique wants and desires as a human being in her own right, the standards of the time insist that she’s little more than a bargaining chip for marriage. She might drive her parents (Andrew “Hot Priest” Scott and Billie “Companion Rose” Piper) batty, but they do love her. Although, they’re also in quite the financial bind, so they could really use that dowry moolah from even the oldest, ugliest, most grotesque suitor. What’s a little Birdy to do?!
What Made an Impression?: There’s something mystical about watching a story set in a time before mass telecommunication. Since there’s no video evidence of the era, any picture of centuries ago is a mere approximation. But this wasn’t exactly a problem for the people when they were alive in 1290. In fact, I would go so far as to say that nobody ever thought about that sort of thing, unless they were unusually philosophically inclined. Certainly, Birdy and her family and friends don’t concern themselves with such thoughts; instead, they mostly just go about their routines and live their lives as they are wont to do. So the fact that we get to have a peek into those lives arrives like a mysterious gift from the universe, even if it is all fully fictional.
On a more quotidian level, I also appreciate that Catherine Called Birdy is family-friendly without feeling like it’s holding back. There are several moments where it feels frighteningly possible that things could turn bloody and/or abusive. And while we’re spared the worst details, we’re not spared the vicarious experience of what it’s like to be a teenage girl at a time when that meant you were basically property. Ramsey boils it all together with a spirited, feral performance that should hook in plenty of viewers.
Catherine Called Birdy is Recommended If You Like: Rolling around on hills, Occasional swordplay, The scene with Dennis the Peasant from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Dowries
December 21, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alex Hassell, Bertie Carvel, Brendon Gleeson, Brian Thompson, Corey Hawkins, Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Harry Melling, Joel Coen, Kathryn Hunter, Macbeth, Moses Ingram, Ralph Ineson, Richard Short, Sean Patrick Thomas, Stephen Root
The Tragedy of Macbeth (CREDIT: Alison Cohen Rosa/A24)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Corey Hawkins, Brendon Gleeson, Harry Melling, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Kathryn Hunter, Moses Ingram, Ralph Ineson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Stephen Root, Brian Thompson, Richard Short
Director: Joel Coen
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: R for Bloody Swordplay
Release Date: December 25, 2021 (Theaters)/January 14, 2022 (Apple TV+)
When reviewing a new Shakespeare adaptation, especially one of the Bard’s most popular productions, it makes sense to ask: what makes this version different? So as Joel Coen goes solo to take on The Scottish Play, what uniqueness has he brought to the table? Well, he did cast his wife Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth, so that could potentially be some fertile ground for psychoanalysis. Or maybe not! She’s already been in plenty of his films, and I’m willing to guess that this isn’t the first time that a director’s wife has been cast in something Shakespearean. Denzel Washington certainly brings some more melanin than usual to the title role, but ultimately that’s neither here nor there. He’s Denzel Washington after all, so why not cast him in one of the most dramatically hefty parts in all of English-language drama?
Overall, one word comes to mind when trying to identify The Tragedy of Macbeth‘s uniqueness, and that word is: surreal. I don’t know if that’s what Coen was specifically aiming for, and I in fact wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a consideration at all. But no matter how it happened, it showed up. One huge reason for that is the dialogue itself; it’s strange to speak in iambic pentameter all the time, after all. On top of that, the geography within the castle walls never quite makes visual sense. Instead, it’s like a maze that the characters are perpetually stuck within. Combine that with Bruno Delbonnel’s stark black-and-white cinematography, and the whole film comes across as a dream that curdles into a nightmare. And as so often happens when I see a movie that lacks bright colors, I nodded off throughout, which only added to the sense that I slipped through some parallel dimension or underworld.
One more element that really stands out is Kathryn Hunter’s performance as the witchy weird sisters. She contorts herself into seemingly inhuman positions, which is a wise acting decision, considering that her characters are meant to be somewhere in between human and supernatural. I didn’t ask to see a huge disembodied toe stuck between someone else’s toes, but now I won’t be able to forget it. Nor will I be able to forget the shot of the one sister standing over a pool that reflects back the other two sisters. This is a striking Shakespearean adaptation, is what I’m saying.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is Recommended If You Like: Claustrophobia, Cruel fate, Maximum weirdness
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Usurpers
September 13, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Adeel Akhtar, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Jamie New, Jonathan Butterell, Lauren Patel, Max Harwood, Ralph Ineson, Richard E. Grant, Samuel Bottomley, Sarah Lancashire, Sharon Horgan, Shobna Gulati
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (CREDIT: Amazon)
Starring: Max Harwood, Sarah Lancashire, Lauren Patel, Shobna Gulati, Ralph Ineson, Sharon Horgan, Richard E. Grant, Adeel Akhtar, Samuel Bottomley
Director: Jonathan Butterell
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Some Cruel Words and a Few Dustups
Release Date: September 10, 2021 (Select Theaters)/September 17, 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Drag is huge nowadays. But it wasn’t that long ago when playing around with gender expression in many public spaces was totally verboten. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is coming out in 2021, the same year as RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13, but the stage musical it’s based on premiered in England four years ago, and the TV documentary that inspired it aired back in 2011, way before Drag Race broke into the mainstream. That is all to say, the story of 16-Year-Old Prom Drag Queen Jamie New (Max Harwood) is an Instant Period Piece. I don’t come anywhere close to batting my eye when I hear that a boy in an English village revealed in front of his whole school his propensity for dressing and performing in traditionally femnine garb, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. But not everyone is currently that open-minded, but nevertheless we know that Jamie is going to find his allies by movie’s end.
Since there’s not much need for worry, Jamie’s story will be satisfying so long as it’s compelling and features interesting characters. (And of course, also, if the tunes are catchy … which they are, if you’re into the whole modern rock opera sort of thing.) So we see him hanging out with his best friend Pritti (Lauren Patel), who’s always there to encourage him, just so long as it doesn’t get in the way of her Life Plan too much. And then there’s his mom Margaret (Sarah Lancashire) and her best friend Ray (Shobna Gulati), who are his biggest, most undying supporters. Meanwhile, Jamie’s trying to reach out to the dad that abandoned him (Ralph Ineson) while also dealing with some bullies and a teacher (Sharon Horgan) who simply must insist on always doing everything the proper way. This is, as I’m sure many viewers will recognize, a fairly typical teenage experience. These moments all feel like the biggest deals in the world when they’re happening, and prom feels like the massive culmination of all that. But really, this is a time when your mortal enemy could easily become your friend, and prom is mostly just an occasion to hang out with all your buds.
What’s not so typical of this tale is Loco Chanel, the veteran drag queen brought to dramatic, achingly heartfelt life by Richard E. Grant. Jamie is profoundly fortunate to encounter someone like this, and so are we. The mentorship Loco provides is invaluable. We should all be so lucky to be able to know someone who immediately encourages us to be our truest selves while also lavishly explaining the world that we’re about to enter into. So many kids today are excited to enter the world of drag, and watching Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a perfectly decent way to get a sense of what that might be all about.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is Recommended If You Like: Well-timed Bianca Del Rio cameos, Modern Rock-Style Musicals, Rebelling against the stuffy English school system
Grade: 3 out of 5 High Heels
July 28, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alicia Vikander, Barry Keoghan, David Lowery, Dev Patel, Erin Kellyman, Gawain, Joel Edgerton, Kate Dickie, Ralph Ineson, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, The Green Knight
The Green Knight (CREDIT: Eric Zachanowich/A24)
Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, Ralph Ineson, Erin Kellyman
Director: David Lowery
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Rating: R for Violence and a Little Bit of Sex Within a Fantastical Swirl
Release Date: July 30, 2021 (Theaters)
My experience of watching The Green Knight was just moment after moment that had me going, “I was not expecting THAT.” It starts off pretty quickly that way: Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) beheads the Green Knight (Ralph Ineson), but the Green Knight keeps right on talking. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. If you’re familiar with the source material, this inciting incident won’t be surprising at all, but for the rest of us, it won’t exactly feel telegraphed. Then there’s the fact that this tale takes place around Christmas, which certainly surprised me as well. Although perhaps it shouldn’t have, considering that “green” is in the title and much of the poster is bright red. But other than that, this movie doesn’t feel very Christmas-y. Though I suppose that centuries ago the holiday was celebrated differently. (“Why not have a release date in December instead of July?,” I wonder out loud.)
The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight sits at a weird place in terms of cultural recognizability. It’s part of Arthurian legend, which is among the most enduringly popular mythologies in the English language. But this particular tale isn’t typically told in the most well-known adaptations. If you’re a fan of the likes of Camelot, The Sword in the Stone, or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you might be familiar with the name “Gawain,” but his encounter with a tricky tree-man hybrid could be totally undiscovered. It’s a trip to first encounter it via David Lowery’s highly stylized and uncompromising vision.
I’m willing to bet my sword that anyone who has read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight before seeing this movie also found themselves saying multiple times, “I was not expecting THAT.” (But they would have been saying it while reading.) There’s no way in Camelot that Lowery can take all the credit for every fantastical twist of gamesmanship and illogic. What is the Green Knight’s deal anyway? When he gets beheaded, he insists that Gawain must come find him one year hence to meet a similar fate. Is this a test of honor, and if so, how? I was not expecting that much confusion.
But it kept coming! Was Alicia Vikander playing two different characters? She must have been, as her personalities were so vastly different. I was not expecting such vagueness with her identity. Nor was I expecting an up-close shot of a very intimate moment. The mature themes and capriciousness in a medieval fantasy aren’t surprises in and of themselves, but their presentation in this version were a lot more surreal than I was prepared for. I’m still processing what I’ve witnessed, and I’m not sure that process will ever be complete, but I appreciate the singularity of the vision.
The Green Knight is Recommended If You Like: Embracing the weirdest and most inscrutable elements of mythology
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Beheadings
February 29, 2020
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Brahms, Brahms: The Boy II, Christopher Convery, Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, Stacey Menear, The Boy, The Boy II, William Brent Bell
CREDIT: STX Films
Oh, Brahms-y boy, Brahms-y boy, Brahms-boyyyyy
(I promised myself that no matter how I ultimately felt about this movie, I would start off my review of Brahms to the tune of “Danny Boy,” so I pray that you were able to indulge me for a few seconds.)
To my eye, the biggest twist of Brahms: The Boy II is that it was written and directed by the same writer-director combo as the first Boy (a couple of folks named Stacey Menear and William Brent Bell, respectively). The original explained the antics of its creepy doll by assuring us that what seemed supernatural actually had a reasonable explanation. But in the sequel, what seems like it will have a reasonable explanation is actually supernatural. That sort of switch is not atypical in horror franchises, but it’s usually dictated by studios scrambling to extend a property and/or a new creative team applying a fresh coat of paint. Perhaps Menear and Bell chose to take a self-aware approach and get ahead of the inevitable or maybe they just never felt married to any one particular way of doing things. Whatever the motivation, it makes me optimistic that The Boy could become a long-running low-budget horror series even if it never reaches any significant heights. After all, while Brahms gave me more to think about than I was expecting, most of it is still just a series of waits for a piece of porcelain to move a few inches every once in a while.
I give Brahms: The Boy II A Hearty Pat on the Back.
Older Entries
Jmunney's Blog 