Is This Thing On? (2025)

After a trial separation with his wife, a depressed man tries his hand at stand-up comedy. He's not so much funny as he is honest and raw as he expresses his feelings in a candid, therapeutic way. It's an often uncomfortable comedy-drama about breaking down a marriage in order to try and save it. Will Arnett and Laura Dern shine. Loosely inspired by the story of comedian John Bishop.

3½ weed cookies out of 5

Jay Kelly (2025)

Clooney plays a successful actor (wink wink) going through an existential crisis, who takes an impromptu trip to Europe, while his entourage follows him wherever he goes. It's a very "inside baseball" look at the entertainment industry, occasionally meandering and self-indulgent, but performances are strong and it's easy to get caught up in the glitz. It didn't quite work its magic on me, but it's a solid effort and an examination of a life lived good enough.

3 slices of cheesecake out of 5

Caught Stealing (2025)

In 1998, a bartender gets involved with the Russian mafia, Jewish hit men, a narcotics detective and other colorful characters in a hunt across the streets of New York City for a mysterious key. It's an occasionally gritty and frenetic crime thriller, but my enthusiasm is muted because the plot feels so familiar in every way. This is probably the most "conventional" movie Darren Aronofsky has ever directed, and I don't necessarily intend that as a compliment.

3 black and white cookies out of 5

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)

"Jurassic World? Not a fan." -Dr. Ian Malcolm

Four years after the last catastrophe, dinosaurs and humans now co-exist. Sadly, all the wonder of this world seems to be missing now. Dinosaurs have become commonplace. Poaching is a thing, as well as black market dealings. The dinosaurs no longer seem as threatening as before, and conveniently always target the baddies. This is one of those movies that gradually wears out its welcome and becomes less enjoyable as it goes on. Ironically, it's the overexposure that saps its novelty. It no longer feels special anymore.

Then again, they got Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum to reunite for the first time since 1993, so what more could you ask? They have a diminished role in this—the last of the Chris Pratt trilogy of Jurassic World films—yet remain the only bright spot that bring any humanity to the proceedings.

This was originally billed as the "epic conclusion of the Jurassic era." But fear not...the dinosaurs will continue to roam the earth. Life, uh, finds a way.

2½ flaming locusts out of 5

Note: Having seen both the theatrical and extended editions, the extended is the superior option, although it adds 14 more minutes to this lumbering entry.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

This might be going against the grain of popular fan-thinking, but I actually preferred this installment to The Force Awakens. It attempted to do something different with the Star Wars brand (just like George Lucas set out to do with his prequel trilogy), whereas J.J. Abrams was more concerned with repeating the past successes and making sure everyone still liked him at the end of it, but did nothing revolutionary to make itself stand out from the rest of the series. This film does the opposite and subverts the viewer's expectations, and it's thrilling as long as you're open enough to accepting change. It's too bad Abrams ended up retconning most of it for the divisive third entry.

4 swigs of green milk out of 5

WILSON [2017]

Based on director Craig Johnson's previous cynically sweet films I think it's safe to say he's the perfect candidate to adapt Daniel Clowes' Wilson graphic novel to the screen.
Woody Harrelson is great as the overly-honest misanthropic title character who finds out he's the father to a teenage girl after he reunites with his troubled ex-wife, played with graceful skill by Laura Dern.
If not for the charms of it's leading actors it'd be a lot more difficult to enjoy spending time with unpleasant folks like these.  Unfortunately the film seems to wander around aimlessly and never makes the emotional impact it seems to strive for.  Some moments are drawn out for too long and some are far too rushed to allow it's sentiment to really sink in.

3 epiphanies at the urinal out of 5

THE FOUNDER [2016]

You ever care how fast-food empire McDonald's got it start?
Me neither.  However director John Lee Hancock's The Founder does help make it somewhat interesting.
It follows businessman Ray Kroc as he takes the McDonalds brother's idea of fast-food and turns it into a towering franchise.
Micheal Keaton's dominating portrayal of Kroc is what makes the film, as the rest is a little lacking in intrigue.  Sadly the rest of the cast of characters are shamefully underwritten but thankfully actors like John Carroll Lynch, Nick Offerman & B.J. Novak have just enough acting chops to give their characters a bit of flavor.  It's not a great film, a little TV-movie-ish in fact but it's got enough going for it to at least give it a chance.

3 milkshakes without the milk out of 5

WILD [2014]

Director Jean-Marc Vallée does the near impossible by turning Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail into a gracefully crafted contemplative film.
Reese Witherspoon does a wonderful job as Strayed who's walking the 2,633 miles long PCR as a way to gather her thoughts from the troubled life she hopes to leave behind.  It's a thoroughly captivating told story of a heart that opens up into the vast wilderness around it that's both dangerous and elegant.  Thankfully we're never quite sure what's around each bend and that's a rarity in such films.  Wild stumbles along here and there but Witherspoon and Laura Dern's underplayed performances make the journey well worth your time.

3½ female hobos out of 5

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS [2014]

Usually when a film adaptation is rushed into production after the success of the book it's based on it normally means bad news bears.
Fortunately Stuck In Love director Josh Boone's adaptation of John Green's youth-oriented novel The Fault In Our Stars is actually quite good.
It tells the story of a couple of young cancer patients, delicately played by Shailene Woodley & Ansel Egort (yes, the brother & sister in Divergent :erm:) who live and learn about life & death and everything around it as a relationship begins blossoming between them.
Like it's source material, the film is witty, humorous and heart-breaking all while it graces us with some superb performances, simple yet elegant photography and enough here to be enjoyed by both mainstream and indie-film lovers.

4 shitty people & shitty writers out of 5

MORE THINGS THAT HAPPENED [2007]

Director David Lynch compiled a series of deleted scenes from Inland Empire to create a feature length narrative in More Things That Happened.
If you're looking for any sort of explanation from the first film then I'd probably walk out the door right now, because this film certainly doesn't make it any better.  There's nothing really here worth seeking out, unless you're a diehard Lynch fan and just need drawn-out scenes of low drones and awkward conversation.  Personally, I feel at home with that sort of thing but this even this one had me checking my watch more often than I'd like to.

2 women in trouble out of 5

INLAND EMPIRE [2006]

Clocking in at 3 hours long, I occasionally got the feeling director David Lynch was having a laugh at the thought of viewers sitting through the senseless collection of awkward scenarios in Inland Empire.
While it does contain the typical Lynchian ingredients like a woman in trouble, cool music, low bassy droning to keep you on edge, characters wandering aimlessly around hallways looking scared, red curtains and asshole officers of the law, you can't help but feel it's Lynch parodying himself unintentionally.  It's essentially the dictionary definition of an "artsy fartsy" film with bizarre dialogue delivery, extended close-ups and subtitles.  Still, Laura Dern pulls of a great, if not confusing performance and there are many interesting scenes even if they don't make sense.
...oh...and bunnies.  There's bunnies.

2½ screwdrivers out of 5

WILD AT HEART [1990]

Director David Lynch makes his own twisted Wizard Of Oz vision in an adaptation of the first of Barry Gifford's Sailor & Lula pulp novel series, Wild At Heart.

A modern romance struggling to survive in a violent world, this road trip film introduces us to large number of bizarre, seedy characters I'd rather not know.  Nicolas Cage & Laura Dern are great in their roles but their white trash, one-track minds make it difficult to like them.  At times the trademark Lynch weirdness seems overly forced but occasionally works in his favor, making for a number of scenes doused in hilarious surrealism.  

3 snakeskin jackets that represents a symbol of individuality and beliefs in personal freedom out of 5

THE MASTER [2012]

Director Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't spoon feed the viewer in his L. Ron Hubbard inspired drama The Master. 

The film layers itself with so many subtle nuances and seemingly confusing pointless moments, it challenges the viewer to search for the answers and seek out meanings on their own.  Each shot and moment isn't without reason, like an establishing shot of the water or laying one's hands on a wall.  It's there for a reason and will more than likely alienate anybody looking for a good time.  Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are astonishing as unlikable but ultimately fascinating characters. It's an eerie and engrossing film that reminds you how great a challenging film can be.

4 tasty poisonous shit-mixes out of 5

JURASSIC PARK III [2001]

Joe Johnston snags the director's seat for the 3rd instalment of the Jurassic Park series, the first not to be based on a Michael Crichton novel.  

What should have been a welcome return to the series, has Sam Neill reprising his role from the first film, only to feel pointless and empty.  The uninspired action is non-stop, saving absolutely no time for any sort of character development whatsoever or interesting story arcs.  Watching this crapfest makes you realize how much graceful thought and time Spielberg put into his filmmaking and action pieces.  

It's essentially like a bad made for TV movie with a Hollywood blockbuster budget.

1 egg in the satchel out of 5

JURASSIC PARK [1993]

Steven Spielberg's action/adventure Jurassic Park is a rare example where the movie is better than the book.  

It's popcorn cinema at some of it's best, with eye-popping effects, iconic imagery, unforgettable scenes and a memorable score from John Williams.  What begins as a awe-inspiring children's film quickly spirals into an incredibly effective and terrifying thriller.  Bad character development and some hokey heart-felt scenes can be forgiven because that's not really what we want to see.  It's the dinosaurs and all their wall-shaking, floor-rumbling glory.  

4 dino-frog penises out of 5

Blue Velvet (1986)

Jeffrey Beaumont discovers something strange in a field near his parents' home; his desire to understand its origins leads him into a murky, suburban dream gone awry. What unfolds drags the viewer to a place most of us pretend doesn't exist. Often unsettling, always powerful, the film is an unfurled canvas depicting a surrealist landscape that is both analogous to reality and surreptitiously real. When Blue Velvet makes you feel afraid, remember this: scratch the surface of anything shiny and you’ll likely find something less appealing underneath. The shine isn't merely an illusion, it’s one facet of the larger whole.

5 strange worlds, Sandy out of 5

Everything Must Go (2011)

Fired from his job, alcoholic Will Ferrell comes home to find his wife has moved out, left his shit on the lawn, changed the locks and cancelled the credit cards. With nowhere else to go and nothing left to lose, he decides to camp out on his lawn and drink. Tackles serious subject matter much in the same way The Beaver (2011) did, without any real form of resolution or clear-cut answers... just like life (whaddaya know!).

3 S&M neighbors out of 5