Although the biographical-musical film The Testament of Ann Lee is set in a radically different time, the story it’s telling is inherently timeless. Profiling the life of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), one of the founders of the “Shaking Quakers" movement of the 1700s, the film is a searing if uneven look at the how faith…Read more Film Review: The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)

Hopefully many years from now, when someone is trying to sum up Mike Flanagan's career, they could likely crib the mantra from his sweet, introspective and entirely odd 2024 effort The Life of Chuck. Based on the Stephen King novella, the film heavily utilizes Walt Whitman's famous line from his poem Song of Myself: "I…Read more Film Review: The Life of Chuck (2024)

Early in Craig Brewer’s entertaining, big hearted musical biopic Song Sung Blue, married couple Mike and Claire Sardina are arguing about the song “Sweet Caroline.” Having just formed a Neil Diamond cover band, the couple is debating how prominently the iconic song should be featured in their set list. Mike, played by a rock-solid Hugh…Read more Film Review: Song Sung Blue (2025)

I’ve long said that people need to meet films where they are. Because if you accept what a film’s capacity is, you’ll set your expectations accordingly. Exhibit A is this year’s Flight Risk. One of the more recent products of our era of streaming slop, this had turkey written all over it. But I went…Read more Film Review: Flight Risk (2025)

In 1985's Commando, there is a fight between Arnie and Bill Duke that perfectly encapsulates that film's unique appeal. While the two actors trade sledgehammer blows, and the fight ends with Duke's character getting fatally impaled on a sharp piece of wood, the scene never gets too brutal and remains light and breezy throughout. Furthering…Read more Film Review: The Beekeeper (2024)

A classic case of a decent idea marred by poor execution, Novocaine is one of those films you want to like but ultimately can't. The film stars Jack Quaid, one of the most enjoyable of the nepo-babies that have taken over Hollywood in the 2020s. Here he plays Nate, a young(ish) assistant bank manager who…Read more Film Review: Novocaine (2025)