Tag: 1970s

EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT – Review

You’d think that Aussie director Baz Luhrmann would’ve had his fill of “the King” after making his big-budget Oscar-nominated biopic of ELVIS nearly four years ago. And you would be so wrong. And Presley fans (and scores of fanatics), along with general movielovers are all the richer for it. Turns out that Baz wanted access to all the footage from the two Elvis concert films from the early 70s, and was probably gobsmacked by the 68 boxes of 35mm (and some 8mm) film delivered from deep within the vaults of Warner Brothers. We do get an overview of the man’s life and career, but the main focus is on the legendary performing tenure begun in 1969 at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. All the hi-tech cleaning and polishing only add to the legend, and truly earn the main title of EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT. Lace up those blue suede shoes…

The taut ninety-minute documentary/concert deftly combines both cinema elements. Baz assembles little “sidebars” that pop up almost like chapter bookends here. There’s a section devoted to his adored “Mama”, initial cultural impact (an explosion almost) with a TV preacher’s warning of the “beat” that summons Satan, his Army stint, the “Colonel”, his romances (yes, Priscella’s there), and many other milestones. Plus, there’s a montage of his often silly (“See Elvis karate chop a tiger!”) later movies that prompted the big 1968 “comeback” TV special. But the real “meat” is the preparations for the big Vegas concert with several unlikely tunes that were considered. It’s interesting to hear the King’s take on a couple of Beatles tunes, along with a Simon and Garfunkel classic. And yes, he’s in excellent “voice”, this being some of his most polished vocal stylings. The rehearsals and preparation scenes build to the big Vegas opening, in which Elvis almost “reinvented” himself and began his new era of live-performance spectacles.

For some viewers, this new reworking of long-thought lost footage will reinforce their perception of this icon, while for the unfamilar much of this may be a revelation or a discovery. We see long hours in minimal facilities to tweak the sound, in order to go beyond the “flash and glitter”. Oh, but there is plenty of that, though. His gaudy, often loud fashion ensembles are on full display, making us think of how it’s the male peacock who attempts to dazzle the ladies. Dazzle is a restrained turn for Elvis’ magnetic appeal to the hordes of enraptured women fans of every age. He is their idealized lover, even if there’s a hint of danger. One great bit has Elvis zeroing in on one of his most prominent female backup singers, which inspires both fear and quivering desire. That’s just one of the scenes of his “clownin””, as we witness him cracking up over his persona. There’s a darkness to one of the “jokes” as Elvis inserts some drug references to one of his tunes, strange since he’d get a “drug buster badge” from then President Nixon less that a decade before he was felled by his addiction. Ah, but that feels like the distant future as we see the celeb-packed audience at that first Vegas concert. Why, he’s visited in his dressing room after the show by Sammy Davis, Jr. and Cary Grant! Oh, to be a fly on the wall to hear what they discussed, or at least to have better microphones trained on them. This is also an incredible time capsule of that time when beehive hairdos (or don’ts) ruled the skies, probably blocking a lot of the audience, who “dressed to impress”, perhaps to garner a glance or a quick smooch from their idol (he does love to wander through the smothering crowds). Yes, these are fun, happy snippets of kitsch, but there’s still some tragedy as Elvis mentions his interest in touring the world, though he would never venture beyond North America. My only complaint about Baz’s passion project is that some songs are cut short in order to avoid a long running time for the IMAX venues. Yes, I wanted more, but what’s there is really great. Oh, and don’t leave when the end credits begin. There’s a brief shot of E flanked by his “Memphis Mafia” as he briskly strolls down the hotel staff corridor past their cafeteria. In his bright blue jumpsuit, he looks like he popped in from Mount Olympus, making us wonder how this rock and roll deity existed on this planet with us. Sure, the music is still wonderful, but the whole mystique is what makes this time-traveling trip so memorable in the truly EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT. And yes, sadly, Elvis has left the building…

3.5 Out of 4

EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT is now playing exclusively on IMAX screens. It expands to theatres everywhere on Friday, February 27, 2026

STILLER & MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST – Review

Here’s a terrific showbiz documentary that’s been sent to streaming just months after another superb one, MY MOM JAYNE (which is still on HBO Max, if it’s still called that). Aside from both this doc’s subjects also being a big part of 20th century pop culture, they also both deal with siblings (both are directors of their docs), who are stars in their own right, discovering their parent(s) through boxes and cases of old recordings, press clippings, and notebooks. Sure, some of the legacy of Jayne Mansfield is fairly funny (such tacky fashions), this new film really explores humor, because it’s about a comedy team. That phrase usually conjures up Laurel & Hardy, the Stooges, those Marx Brothers, but this is one of the rare male/female teamings. While their early 60s contemporaries Nichols & May never settled down, this duo, like Burns & Allen decades before, married and started a family. Here’s the story of how their son Ben discovered that, with STILLER & MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST. Really, it’s all there…

The son, of course, is actor/director/writer/producer Ben Stiller. His father Jerry passed away in 2020, five years after his mom, Anne Meara. Since the world was in lockdown due to the pandemic, Ben decided to prepare their longtime Riverside apartment in NYC for an eventual sale (and take one last spin around with his camera). Before the place could be “staged” for presentation to buyers, Ben, and sister Amy, dove into the cases and cartons of material their folks had accumulated over nearly 70 years. Jerry and Anne married in 1953, and as they took on acting gigs in early TV and the theater, they decided to go out as a comedy team. And they were successful, first in nightclubs, and then becoming a favorite of Ed Sullivan (he booked them on his show 36 times). Ben and Amy relive those old days as they pour over correspondence (seeing their love letters), listening to countless audio cassettes, and watching grainy 8mm home movies. . Somehow, their folks almost return to vivid life, guiding Ben through a very difficult time (his recent separation from wife Christine Taylor). Along this nostalgic journey, Ben interviews his own family, along with dear friends of his parents, including actor Christopher Walken and playwright John Guare. In putting together this loving cinematic tribute, Ben realizes how similar his own life, personal and professional, to his recently departed mom and pop, Could this be sage parent advice and consul from the “Great Beyond”?

Talk about your “labor of love”! What a splendid, interesting and entertaining film which should help dispel that old notion that “documentaries are homework”. Certainly, Ben does make use of the doc trope of “talking heads” (mainly with his aunt), but he’s found a way to juggle and intercut the archival photos and footage in a fresh, compelling way. The segments from the Sullivan show are crisp, looking as though they aired new last Sunday night, while we also get the grainy VHS (or maybe half inch) video dupes of the duo co-hosting “The Mike Douglas Show” and bringing in little Benji and Amy for a sweet, though “ear-testing” violin duet. The notebook scribblings and the murky (sounds like a basement) audio of Anne and Jerry working out a routine for a TV appearance, gives us a rare peek at the creative process. We hear that Anne was relaxed and confident performing while Jerry was a perfection who fretted and “over-rehearsed”, which Ben recognizes in his own work discipline (yup, a chip off the “old man’s” block). There’s a big contrast in the duo’s early years. Jerry wasn’t encouraged by his folks, while Anne was the adored “princess”, perhaps because hers was a single parent household due to a horrific suicide. It’s also fascinating that when the team split, the marriage got a bit stronger since Anne could,at last, pursue dramatic roles and Jerry could finally be the solo comic he dreamed of (his lauded work on the TV sitcoms “Seinfeld” and “King of Queens” in his 70s is one heck of a rousing career third act). Plus the film does shine a light on Ben’s rise with his own 8mm films and videos (starring Jerry), while he also “takes the heat” during the one-on-one-interviews with his spouse and two kids (daughter Ella is still ticked that he cut her out of one of his features). Pressure and guilt (being away too long) are shared by both generations in the “biz”. This is a “pull-no-punches” journey, though with a touch of sweet nostalgia, that is a must for comedy fans (the “collection” is now part of the Museum of Comedy in New York state) of the current media icon and the team that spawned him. Hopefully they’ll be “rediscovered” and found via STILLER & MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST.

3.5 out of 4

STILLER & MEARA : NOTHING IS LOST is now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ and is playing in select theaters

WALTZING WITH BRANDO – Review

Sure, the sun is still making temperatures rise, but it’s the big late-in-the-year awards season for the studios (with just a few days before the official start of Fall). So what’s a favorite subject for the somber, serious flicks vying for the gold? Of course, they turn to the “biopics’, with actors portraying real people (OPPENHEIMER being a most recent example). This weekend’s new “limited” release “straddles” two “sub-sets” of that genre. First, it’s a story of a well-known show-biz personality, some might say the greatest, most influental actor of his generation. But, it doesn’t cover his entire life, “cradle to the grave”. Rather, this film is set during a five or six year segment of his storied career. Oh, and it’s told from a “non-celeb” (often called a “civilian”). Most recently this was done with ME AND ORSON WELLES and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN. Now, don’t be fooled by the title, WALTZING WITH BRANDO is not a ” toe-tapping” musical (though Marlon plays a “mean” bongo).

After a brief bit of archival footage “wizardry” of the “real” Dick Cavett chatting with Marlon Brando (Billy Zane), we’re whisked into the world of a hard-working young family man, Bernard Judge (Jon Heder), toiling as an “up and coming” architect for a Los Angeles design firm in 1969. His boss introduces him to hotel magnate Jack Bellin (Rob Cordry), who plans to build a state-of-the-art resort in Tahiti. They want Bernard to travel there and scope out the proposed locale. Oh, and he’ll need to make an offer to the owner of this spot, a twelve-island atoll called Tetiaroa. After a long plane ride, Bernard arrives and charters a boat to said spot. The captain won’t go ashore due to the jagged coral reef surrounding it. No problem, Bernard will swim in since he’s a great water athlete. Naturally, he’s battered by the rocks and is washed ashore. Luckily, a local family brings him in and tends to his wounds. At their compound/home, Bernard meets the “big papa” and owner of the islands, none other than the Oscar-winning Mr. Brando. Though he’s reluctant at first, the superstar warms to Bernard and tells him of his plans to turn one of the islands into his permanent home, far away from Hollywood, a village (including that resort) that will not harm the local environment. Over the next few years, Bernard devotes all his energy (and time away from his own family in LA) to making Marlon’s dream happen, while he keeps the “river of cash” needed for the project by taking several high-profile and high-paying roles in several iconic 1970s films, including that (his words) “gangster movie”.


Even though his name isn’t in the title, the film’s focus is indeed the hapless “audience surrogate” everyman Bernard played with an uptight, bewildered demeanor by Heder (forever NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE, though being a comic icon is “sweet”). Much like the comedy heroes of the silent era (Harold Lloyd comes to mind), he enthusiastically plunges headfirst into the unknown, AKA island life. Mainly, Heder plays a sincere “straight man” to the many exotic eccentrics, so he comes off rather bland and not especially compelling. On the other hand, the “leader of the loonies” is played with considerable energy and offbeat charm by Zane, who really seems to be channeling (even becoming an eerie doppleganger) for the world-famous thespian. It’s very entertaining to see him recreate those flicks (yes, even Don Vito), but his greatest role may be “the merry prankster” who delights in shocking and confusing all in his path. Zane has charisma to spare, though his take makes the star an affable, enigmatic mystery. An actual Oscar-winner joins in this action, none other than Richard Dreyfuss pops in for a couple of scenes late in the story, as Marlon’s long-suffering “money manager” Seymour Kraft, who serves primarily as a roadblock to Bernard’s island obsession. Ditto for Tia Carrera’s loopy, leering Madame Leroy in a goofy seduction sequence. She’s a temptation for Bernard, much like the breezy German bombshell Michelle, a stewardess with lots of free time played by Camille Razat. And the always reliable Cordry puts his comic timing to good use as the bombastic lodging tycoon, an unlikely partner for Marlon in his “planned paradise”.


Director Bill Fishman helms his own screenplay adaptation of Bernard’s memoir, and makes a gorgeous “travelogue” of the exotic Tahiti (quite “vacation fodder”). It’s an interesting chapter in the actor’s life (perhaps a “second act’ after his breakthrough in the previous decade), but the plot just seems to lurch and stumble from one big “event” to another, bouncing around through those five or so years with an off-kilter momentum (long after the opening Cavett sequence we reverse to see Brando with Johnny Carson, to illustrate his stance on the civil rights movement). And way too much time is spent on wacky hijinks involving the locals and their slapstick building efforts (submerged tractors and possible angry ghosts). Zane’s superb impersonation is the main selling point in the marketing, even though the forced melodrama involving Bernard and his family simply doesn’t pay off. Neither does the odd decision for Heder to break the fourth wall in order to provide the “back story” for Brando and the future of the islands. Plus, there’s a rather dull final act that’s not livened up by another bit of whimsy from the title subject before the inevitable pre-credit update captions. And that’s a stumble that doesn’t make WALTZING WITH BRAND) a graceful gaze at old Hollywood.

2 Out of 4

WALTZING WITH BRANDO is now playing in select theatres

I’M STILL HERE – Review

Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva in the Brazilian historical drama I’M STILL HERE. Photo by Adrian Teijido. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

The Oscar-nominated, true story-based I’M STILL HERE opens with an idyllic family scene, as mom swims in the ocean, her children play volleyball on the beach. She looks up as a dark helicopter flies overhead, briefly puzzled, before turning her attention back to the water, the beach and her family. Her youngest, a boy, has found a puppy and crosses the street from the beach to their comfortable home. The helicopter is forgotten. But this is Brazil in 1971 and a military dictatorship is in charge of the country, and the military helicopter foreshadows what is to come.

I’M STILL HERE stars Brazilian great Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva, mother of five and wife of Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello), a former congressman turned architect, in an adaptation of Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s biographical book about his family’s experience in under the brutal dictatorship. The film shows the transition from quiet ordinary life to a time of government violence and terror, from the view of one family, during the time when countless people were “disappeared” by the dictatorship.

Fernanda Torres gives a riveting performance as Eunice Paiva, as she is transformed by events when the family is suddenly upended after becoming a government target, a role taking the character from her forties, to her sixties, to late in her life in her 80s.

It is easy to see parallels with our present in the way normal life is slowly transformed under authoritarian government. I’M STILL HERE is one of two Oscar-nominated international films about families under violent authoritarian rule, the other being SEED OF THE SACRED FIG. I’M STILL HERE is set in the past, about one specific family in Brazil under a infamous dictatorship from which it eventually emerged, while SEED OF THE SACRED FIG is a contemporary story of an Iranian family who is a composite inspired by recent events about a family of a government official under extreme internal and external pressures. Both films are excellent dramatic films but audiences might see more parallels with the present here in the historical I’M STILL HERE, and also feel a sense of closure and reassurance in that the country emerged from that period, while things are less hopeful in Iran, which is little changed after the brief uprising against restrictions on women depicted in that film. A drama in which a country ultimately recovers from dictatorship is more reassuring to watch.

I’M STILL HERE is beautifully-crafted by director Walter Salles, takes us into the warmth and fun of this large, lively family. Four girls and a boy, the youngest, keep both parents on their toes but the family is both close and fun. With the help of their live-in cook and maid, mom Eunice keeps everything running smoothly at home while big personality, fun Rubens earns the money and plays around with the kids. The couple entertain frequently in their home, have a big circle of friends and generally life is good in Rio. At the same time, they are aware of the realities of living under a dictatorship, and are careful to keep a low profile. Rubens was once a Congressman but that is in the past, and he stays out of politics now. Still, they are a politically-savvy couple, and it is a wake-up call when their oldest daughter is caught up in a military roadblock, as the authorities search for suspected terrorists and is quickly released only after the military police recognize her boyfriend’s diplomatic connections. When an ambassador disappears, they decide to send their oldest daughter, who will go to college next year and tends already to be outspoken, to London, along with friends who are relocating their family to Britain to escape Brazil’s government.

Eunice and Rubens think they are on top of things, until government official show up to take Rubens downtown for routine questioning. While he drives away, escorted by the officials, a handful of other government officials come into the house to hold the family there until her returns. Some of them are armed. Eunice is a gracious hostess to her uninvited guests, offering food and making them comfortable. Then new officials show up, to take in Eunice and her next oldest daughter in to ask a few questions.

The small steps by which things evolve from normal to not are part of the chilling tension in this well-crafted drama by director Walter Salles. The pacing, choice of shots and mis-en-scene are perfect as this film goes slowly, step-by-step, from it’s portrait of noisy familial happiness to tension and terror. When Rubens is taken away, it leaves Eunice to make decisions she is unaccustomed to making, on top of her worries.

By the time Eunice arrives at the facility where she will be questioned, she knows she is outside any thing normal. Still, she fiercely demands to see her husband or to at least know if he is there.

Fernanda Torres is virtually a national treasure for Brazil, a remarkable gifted actor who can pull off the challenges of this role and play a character convincingly through 40 years. Various actors play the kids as they grow but careful casting makes that seem seamless.

All the cast give excellent performances but Fernanda Torres is the one who shines brightest. Torres is outstanding as Eunice, depicting her going from her wife and mother role to stepping in to take charge. Early on, she is warm, appealing and smart as wife and mother but fierce as the wife defending her husband and children. Eunice is defiant and confident as she demands to see her husband, but she is disconcerted when her interrogator shrugs off her demands. On Torres’ expressive face, we see the slow dawning realization that she has no power after all, and fleeting shadows of fear pass over her face as well.

Torres is the center of most scenes and her powerful, nuanced portrayal of Eunice is key in the film’s

emotional impact, and a lynch pin in the narrative as well. The appeal of this close family is also key as we watch their world transformed.

The majority of the film focuses on the terrifying events the family endures, but then the film leaps forward in time more that twenty years to show them as survivors, adding both a note of hope and a sense of closure, as we see them changed but still standing. And Eunice is still here, as the title says. A further leap forward in time, to Eunice’s old age, gives almost a sense of triumph, despite the losses and what was endured. It is an unexpected way to end this kind of story but director Salles makes it something powerful by focusing on Fernanda Torres’ face again.

I’M STILL HERE is an inspiring true tale of a family that survives, enduring losses and battered but still standing, due to the strength of one woman. It is a film even the subtitle-adverse should see for its depiction of the slow advance of authoritarian power as it chips away at the normal, and for its redemptive ending.

I’M STILL HERE, in Portuguese with English subtitles, opens in theaters on Friday, Feb. 7.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

SATURDAY NIGHT – Review

Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Jane Curtain (Kim Matula), Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) in SATURDAY NIGHT.

Ah, the weekend, a time to kick back and relax after the drudgery of the nine-to-fives grind. Well, that’s the case for most of us. For the folks working at “30 Rock” in the “Big Apple” it’s truly “crunch time” Most weeks, that is. And it all started exactly 49 years ago. That’s when one of the “big three” networks (in those “prehistoric’ times before cable and streaming), the National Broadcasting Company decided to gamble on a risky concept, one that was once the “norm” nearly twenty years prior. Back in the 1950s almost everything on the tube (other than creaky old movies) was aired live. But with the advent of video tape, most of the entertainment or “variety shows” shows were run free of glitches and goof-ups thanks to meticulous editing of the “pre-recorded” content. Due to pressure from “the king of late night” NBC wanted something new and off beat, a show that could appeal to the coveted 18 to 34 demographic that sponsors love, to run rather than repeats of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”. After corraling a motley team of eager energetic twenty-somethings, a ninety minute original comedy and music “revue” would air at the weekend’s “epicenter”. And this new film tells the backstage story of that fateful night. To paraphrase one of the show’s many “catchphrases”, “Filmed In New York (and Georgia), it’s SATURDAY NIGHT!”. And thank you, Don Pardo…

The film takes place in the ninety minutes prior to the premiere on October 11, 1975. It’s 10 pm and a frustrated NBC page (Finn Wolfhard) can’t even give away free audience passes to the new show. His “spiel” is interrupted by the program’s creator/producer Lorne Michaels (Gabrielle LaBelle) as he greets a “featured performer” Andy Kaufman (Nicholas Braun), who has been dropped off by his parents. After getting past the security team, they two take the elevator to the “nerve center” on the eighth floor. Lorne is quickly approached by the NBC VP of late-night programming Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) who is his “sounding board” and advisor. Priority one is the on-air talent. Chicago Second City vet John Belushi (Matt Wood) balks at wearing the bee costumes and avoids signing his contract. Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris) questions his place in the show. As does the “classicly-trained” actress Jane Curtin (Kim Matula). Dan Ackroyd (Dylan O’Brien) doesn’t like his props while Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) fears being typecast as everybody’s “kid sister”. And Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn) wants to change costumes quicker. Towering over them all is the snarky, confident Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith). The loudest complainer may be the host, counter-culture stand-up comedy icon George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), while the softest may be Muppet master Jim Henson (Braun again). And as the sets are still being built, Lorne is getting “pitches” from his writing staff led by the acerbic dark-humored Michael O’Donogue (Tommy Dewey) and Lorne’s soon-to-be ex-wife Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott). And if that weren’t enough, the NBC talent relations exec David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) has brought in a horde of middle-aged NBC station affiliate owners and the network’s first “superstar”, Milton Berle (J.K. Simmons), who act more like sharks that just smelled blood in the water. Tebet has a big reel-to-reel videotape of Carson ready to go. Will Lorne’s “dream” be scrapped before it’s even aired? Well, we know the answer to that…

But it’s still a fun, exhilarating ride thanks to this superb cast led by LaBelle who follows up his lead role in THE FABELMANS by playing another media icon. Sure, he often resembles a “deer caught in headlights” as everything appears on the verge of self-destruction, but LaBelle imbues Michaels with a steely determination and a strong backbone when the “suits’ encircle him. He’s got to put on a brave face, but lets the mask slip away with his two biggest “back-ups”. One is Shuster given a smart and sassy air by the engaging Sennott. She’s truly walking a tightrope as she tries to bolster Michaels just enough without leading him to think that their marriage will be “patched up” while engaging in some flirty banter with O’Brien’s Ackroyd. Plus she’s also the “Belushi-whisperer” as hers is the only voice that seems to calm his “savage beast”. The other person in Michaels’ “corner” is Ebersol played with great energy and empathy by Hoffman who cares about the project but isn’t afraid to “lay it on the line” to the frazzled producer (and his “product placement” rant is pretty funny). The story’s “villain”, other than the clicking countdown to air, might be Dafoe, at his most reptilian (and that’s saying a lot) as the sinister Tebet, a blow-dried Lucifer dangling stardom in front of Chase, while cooly pushing Michaels to “try for next week” in a passive-aggressive whisper. Almost matching him is Simmons whose “Uncle Milty” swings his “BDE” as he clings to his past glories. While they aren’t “perfect doppelgangers” for the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players”, all of the ensemble can suggest them via subtle voice inflection and gestures especially the aforementioned O’Brien who captures the aggressive super-focused nerdiness of Ackroyd as he rattles off the specs of a pistol in one breath along with Morris who conveys the inner-conflict and turmoil inside Garrett as he fears that all of his schoolings may be in service of TV “tokenism” (“I’m an opera singer, now I’m a pimp?”). Kudos also to Robert Wuhl as bemused journeyman director Dave Wilson and Tracy Letts as grizzled comedy guru Herb Sargent, who outlines Chevy’s future (Smith’s terrific as the swaggering comic “alpha”). But the MVP may be Braun doing delicious “double-duty” as the strange Kaufman and the quietly eccentric Henson.


And who’s the talented filmmaker that imbues a vibrant vitality to a tale so familiar to TV fans and historians? Why, it’s none other than Jason Reitman, who himself is part of a comedy dynasty that mixed with many SNL vets ( he and his late father directed Ghostbuster flicks with Ackroyd). He also co-wrote the film with Gil Kenan, and sure some of it is probably “dramatically-altered” embellishments to the legends (certainly no live show would bring in the audience with only minutes to spare as the set floor was still being built), but it’s a movie, not a TV mini-series (which would be pretty cool, too). More important than 100% accuracy is the immediacy Reitman gives this fable, which at times seems to be a fever dream from Michaels who is constantly “spinning plates”. This takes the “walk and talk” trope of Aaron Sorkin to dizzying heights as the always-in-motion- producer is cornered by questioners from the left and right (30 Rock has some long hallways). Several bits from much later sketches are referenced (did these comic ideas gestate for years), but it adds to the manic footloose frenzy. It’s all given a gritty smoke-filled haze (so much chain-smoking) thanks to the 16mm cinematography by Eric Steelberg and accented by the score from Jon Batiste, who doubles as “musical guest” Billy Preston. And let’s give ‘props” to the prop department along with the art and design teams and the funky period costuming of Danny Glicker. Yes, the pace is a bit overwhelming at times, but this film takes its place amongst the great films set around classic TV shows both real (BEING THE RICARDOS) and fictional (MY FAVORITE YEAR) as it balances the emergence of the new “raised by the tube” creators and the zeal of the Judy and Mickey “let’s put on a show” flicks. Best of all it reminds us of that magic time hanging out with your school pals hunkered around the TV (not too loud since the folks are in bed) waiting for the clock to hit 11:30 (10:30 central) to finish the big lazy day with some laughs and music on SATURDAY NIGHT.

4 Out of 4

SATURDAY NIGHT is now playing exclusively in theatres everywhere

THE BIKERIDERS – Review

This weekend sees the release of a brand new film from an acclaimed director with an all-star cast that’s a cinematic “call-back” to a genre that’s gone AWOL from the multiplexes and even the drive-ins (still enjoying a pandemic “bump) for the last few decades. And no, I’m not talking about the Western, which gallops back with Kevin Costner in the saddle next week. Well, there are a few comparisons, though these flicks began in the fifties and were an exploitation staple (a fave of the “passion pit”) into the swingin’ 70s. Going for more speed than the “oaters” were the “motorcycle gang” action epics, which have played a big role in the futuristic world of Mad Max and Furioisa. Now, this flick has those elements, but it’s more of a historical overview following some guys, and a few gals, who really thought of themselves as a “club” rather than a “gang” which accounts for their more genteel designation as THE BIKERIDERS.

It all begins quietly in mid-70s suburbia as photojournalist Danny Lyon (Mike Faist) catches up with a past “subject”. Kathy (Jodie Comer) tells him of a fateful night at a Chicago bar in the late 50s where she encountered the Vandals Motorcycle Club and became smitten with one of its senior members, the silent smoldering Benny (Austin Butler). When he offers her a lift on his cycle, he remains outside her apartment driving away her current beau. Of course, she had to marry him a couple of weeks later. Kathy then also becomes a part of CVMC and meets its leader/founder Johnny (Tom Hardy) who was inspired by watching THE WILD ONE on TV. His group is more of a family with several of his “surrogate sons”. There’s the lumbering, spacey Zipco (Michael Shannon), and their devious mechanic Cal (Boyd Holbrook) whose past membership with a West Coast club catches up to him when Funny Sonny (Norman Reedus) tracks him down, who then also “changes colors” Through the years the club clashes with rival crews and the local police while slowly expanding. But their growth isn’t fast enough for a much younger “upstart” called “the Kid” (Toby Wallace). Over the miles traveled and wild antics, Danny is recording it all on reel-to-reel tapes and snapping lots of pics. But the good times are threatened by the influx of drug-dealing (and using) returning vets, violent crime, and the Kid’s less “civil’ cohorts which may put an end to Johnny’s dream of leading his pals on an endless cruise down the highways and byways in pursuit of “new kicks”.

As two of the main leads a pair of lauded Brits do a splendid job of delivering accents from the upper Midwest. Comer mixes the Windy City vocal styling with a good chunk of Minnesota (thinking of Marge from the film FARGO) as the no-nonsense devoted biker spouse Kathy. She’s tender and fiercely protective of her Benny while not taking any “guff’ from him as he makes several questionable choices. Hardy’s Johnny is an affable everyman who often opts for the “hard way” in guiding the group and keeping his “alpha dog” rep, though Benny brings out his warm patriarchal instincts. Though he’s often staring intently and saying little, Butler as Benny is a compelling “hair trigger” nearly always settling “beefs” with his fists rather than his words. Shannon only has a few scenes to shine, but he makes the most of this character role giving Zipco a dense clueless sweetness. Ditto for Holbrook when Cal boasts and brags about his garage “magic” to rescue the banged-up bikes from the scrap heap. Faist is the fascinated outsider, drawn to danger even as his “models” are perplexed by his probing and constant documentation. Reedus seems to be having a blast as the “Cali-transplant” as he whips his tangled mane and flashes a set of truly gnarly “chopper” (teeth, not bikes). And hovering at the edge, Wallace simmers with anger and just oozes dread and doom.


Writer/director Jeff Nichols concocts a sprawling multi-decade saga from the real-life Danny Lyon’s same-titled book of photo-essays (many of those great silver images are seen in the end credits). He recreates the eras quite well, but we never really get into the heads of the principals to explore their need for this “fellowship” and their urge to act on any impulse. The near-constant parties (many are almost orgies) harken back to the Roger Corman (miss you, sir) seminal speed thriller WILD ANGELS more than the Brando classic. But Nichols really heightens the tension before the first punch, and doesn’t shy away from the resulting agony (Benny really pays a big price for his stubbornness). As the story progresses Nichols’ vision steers the story into the gangster genre (he’s said that GOODFELLAS was a big influence) with the anti-drug stance of the GODFATHER trilogy. But there’s a bit of a nod to ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.. with the darkness of the late 60s souring the “good vibes” of the early part of the decade. Soon the film bounces back and forth through the timeline making it merely a cool nostalgic stitching of various setpieces with this great cast “cosplaying” as the brawlers and “gear-heads”. It all finishes abruptly in the 1970s leaving us wondering just how some of the principals “settled down” and why they chose ths path. THE BIKERIDERS looks and sounds great, but the last stop isn’t worthy of the meandering trek, sputtering when it should soar through the years.

2 out of 4

THE BIKERIDERS is now playing in select theatres

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – Review

Being an avid fan of “old school” horror (almost a “monster kid” since I devoured “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine, built the Aurora model kits, and scooped up the Super 8 Castle Films abridged versions of the 30s ad 40s Universal classics), I try to keep an open mind to the newer films, even the “sub-genres”. One of those is the “found footage” chiller that probably established itself with its biggest hit THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. It opened the floodgates for jittery, shakey phony home video slightly “tweaked” via software trickery. The multiplexes are so bombarded that I almost dread a new one. Oh, but an Aussie filmmaking duo has come up with a new “twist’ that keys right into another bit of nostalgia: classic TV not from the “golden age’ of the 50s, but the often “schlocky” stuff of the 70s. Plus it’s not from daytime or prime time (8 to 11 PM EST). I mean what kid 47 years ago wouldn’t try to sneak downstairs to the massive 19-inch console TV, sit close to the screen so you can keep the volume low (and not wake up the parents), and gaze at the “forbidden fruit” of LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL? Oh, the night school day is going to be rough…

The big “conceit” is the existence of a talk show host who tried to topple the “king of late night” Johnny Carson and his “Tonight Show” on NBC. In the opening prologue, we learn of a seedy “upstart” syndicated network, UBC, and their “jewel”, the live show “Night Owls with Jack Delroy”. Its host (David Dastmalchian) is a slightly awkward Chicago DJ who’s now the headliner in the network’s NYC hub. Naturally, there’s a band and a dweeby stooge/sidekick, Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri). It hit the airwaves in 1971, and soon…made no headway at all against Johnny. Jack’s constantly on the verge of cancellation, despite the influence of his membership in a private secretive millionaire’s club “The Grove”, until he interviews his wife, Madeleine (Georgina Haig), who is in a losing battle with breast cancer. After she succumbs, Jack leaves his show… temporarily. When he returns Jack decides to set the show apart from the landscape of late night by tackling controversial, often exploitive topics and courting confrontation (telling several guests to “hit the bricks”). This all sets the stage for the unaired Halloween show of 1977. After a twitchy monologue Jack brings out a “speaker for the deceased” Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) whose segment takes a truly dark turn when he’s rushed away to a hospital. Perhaps his exit was spurred on by a heated exchange with magician and paranormal debunker Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss). But this is nothing compared to the night’s “big get” as Jack brings on scholar/author June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and the subject of her book “Conversations with the Devil”, teenager Lilly D’Abo (Ingrid Torelli), the only surviving member of the Abraxas satanic cult. Actually, a demon they worshipped, Lilly calls him “Mr. Wriggles”, can speak through her. Soon the show goes completely “off the rails” when Jack pressures June to set up a “session” with Lilly and Mr. W, mostly to humiliate Haig. From then, the Neilsen Ratings are the very least of Jack’s troubles…

One of the busiest character actors, bouncing in and out of several franchises and genres (he’s in the MCU, the DCEU, Dune, the recent Dracula spin-off, even OPPENHEIMER), Dastmalchian truly gets a chance to shine in the lead role as the in-over-his-head Delroy, employing his comic “chops” in the TV monologue sets before settling into weasily desperation and the dread of his plunge into televised Hell. Perhaps Jack was most comfortable riffing into a radio mike since Dastmalchain conveys a near-constant “flop-sweat” making it clear that this guy would never dethrone Carson. He’s certainly not helped by Atueri as the cringyly awkward “second banana” who is easily rattled and demeaned. One of his main bullies is the producer of the show, Jack’s manager and “right hand” Leo Fiske (Josh Quong Tart) an arrogant, unethical opportunist. Much of that is true for Bliss as Haig, a pompous gasbag who fancies himself as a modern Houdini, though he’s playing his own “con” while flaunting his righteous superiority. Gordon is quite good as the morally conflicted doctor who truly cares for her patient despite the blatant exploitation of her trauma. And as that patient, Lily, Torelli effortlessly goes from a sweet helpful young woman to a taunting harpy who could be the conduit for fiery chaos.

Oh, the Aussie duo I mentioned earlier are the Cairnes Brothers, Colin and Cameron, the film’s writing and directing “tag team”. They truly score a “hat trick” with their third feature as they tread a fine line between satire and terror. Working with their artisans they carefully recreated the tacky period from the polyester suits (and massive neckties) to the TV set furnishings complete with multi-color graphic backdrop walls, and even the “stay tuned, we’ll be right back” art card “bumpers” (supposedly made with AI). Once we settle in and stifle our nostalgic giggles, the story shifts gears into nightmare territory as we become invested in the often caricatured “guests”. There’s even a nice nod to horror flicks of that era with the use of practical effects involving puppetry, prosthetics, and mood lighting (when they go to “commercial” the backstage footage is in docu-style handheld monochrome). Sure, we’re kind of stuck in the studio, but it never feels claustrophobic or “stage” as the feeling of dread increases By the final denouncements, we’re left to ponder the fate of the principals and how or who put everything “into motion”. It all makes for a most interesting exploration of TV talk show terror in the imaginative and audacious LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL.

3 Out of 4

LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL is now playing in select theatres.

THE HOLDOVERS – Review

We just finished that spooky holiday and now we (mostly the retailers) are gearing up for the big two end-of-the-year family holidays. And if you’re at school and far away from family you’re looking forward to taking a break from academia to reunite with those loved ones. But what if that’s not possible, and you’re stuck for a couple of weeks with your least favorite teacher? That’s the premise of this dramedy, which is a cause for celebration for film lovers. That’s because it’s the latest directorial effort from a filmmaker who has been delighting us for over thirty years now. And for a little extra treat in our stocking, this reunites him with an actor who has been quite a scene stealer in supporting character roles. Well now, he’s front-and-center along with a talented acting duo as the the trio that’s forced to bound over Christmas and into New Year’s as THE HOLDOVERS.

It’s a very chilly snowy 1970 December on the campus of the prestigious Barton Academy, an elite prep school for boys in the New England area. All the students are “psyched” for Christmas break, especially fifteen-year-old Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa). He’s one of the better scholars, but he has a knack for getting into mischief. Although he gets passing grades, he still manages to “get under the skin” of prickly curmudgeon Dr. Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) the loathed teacher of ancient civilizations. And the dean at Barton is not too happy with him as he didn’t give a ‘pass’ to the son of a wealthy school donor. Therefore Hunham will stay on campus during the break to supervise the students with nowhere to go for the holiday. Then Tully suddenly finds himself in that group after his mother informs him that she’s planning a belated Winter honeymoon with her new hubby. And then the group of “holdovers” is “whittled down to three when a rich papa whisks away four students in his private copter. Their parents were called and gave the “OK” while Tully’s couldn’t be reached. So he’s “stuck” at school with Hunham and the cafeteria supervisor Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who recently lost her only son in Vietnam. So, is there any way this threesome can get along and make these holidays happy?

Oh welcome back Mr. Giamatti, it feels as though your excellent work on the Showtime series “Billions” has kept you away from the big screen far too long. Happily, you’ve gifted us with a superb performance as the reviled teacher mockingly called “Walleye”. He could have easily become a caricature of the scholarly dictator cartoonishly ruling his classroom with an iron fist. Mind you, we get a bit of that in the opening sequences as he gifts his charges with a “lump of coal” wrapped in homework, but Hunham is more complex than that. His hard exterior doesn’t obscure his longing spirit as Giamatti shows us that this surly misanthrope yearns for a human connection, as he tries not to drown in a sea of regret and remorse. One of the few staffers he reaches out to is Mary, played by the compelling Ms. Randoph. Her no-nonsense kitchen queen also puts up a “tough front”, not wishing to be pitied for her heart-wrenching loss. Randolph shows us that Mary has found another wounded soul in Hunham. Much of the same can be said for the “tossed away” son played by screen newcomer Sessa who uses a snarky wiseguy attitude to mask the hurt abandonded child inside. With his Pop “out of the picture”,, Tully needs a family connection to his mother who appears to toss him aside for her new beau. And Sessa shows us how this fuels his rebellious behavior with Hunham. Sessa’s best moments are when he strains against his mentor as he tries to charge into adulthood (his flirtation with a local girl is charming and a bit “cringe”). These three powerhouse actors provide a strong foundation for the film.

But it all might collapse if it weren’t for the superior “architect” behind this story, the engaging filmmaker Alexander Payne working from David Hemingson’s smart and sensitive (and very funny) screenplay. The two expertly recreate that “transition time” as the radical 60s eased into the go-go 70s. Helping considerably is the authentic sets (all real places), art direction, costuming, and grooming (wow, those helmet-like hair haircuts of the day). This is first and foremost a Payne project as we become involved with these offbeat characters, but it’s also a warm homage to the directors of that period as the whole movie has the feel of lauded director Hal Ashby (especially THE LAST DETAIL with the trio at the center of a journey), mixed with a touch of James Bridges’ THE PAPER CHASE and assorted other school-set dramedies. The atmosphere seems so real as we can almost feel those cold dark paneled floors as the characters tromp through those long empty hallways. And again, Payne gets the best out of his cast, rivaling his last collaboration with Giamatti nearly twenty years ago with SIDEWAYS. There are no flashy camera techniques or staccato editing, merely (though it’s oh so rare) assured storytelling abetted by superlative performances. THE HOLDOVERS is a true cinematic holiday gift for movie lovers everywhere.

4 Out of 4

THE HOLDOVERS is now playing in select theatres

THE HILL (2023) – Review

Two true-life sports movies opening on the same weekend! Oh yeah, it was bound to happen but we’re taking a big detour (hmm), maybe even a U-turn (okay, enough already) from the video game F1 flick. For one thing. this one is set squarely in the past, before Pong was a staple, way back in the splashy 1970s, after a brief stop in the sensational ’60s. Oh, and this concerns the American pastime (as in hot dogs and apple pie), in the tradition of THE NATURAL and THE ROOKIE (with which it shares a star). Now the title doesn’t refer to the pitcher’s mound, but rather to the obstacles its focus must face (perhaps closer to a steep mountain). And since it’s also the last name of the family in this faith-based drama it’s simply THE HILL.

After the briefest of prologues in which a seemingly angry teen jumps in his beat-up 70s auto and cranks up a power ballad, we’re whisked away about ten years ago as he spends a lazy day outside his father’s country church. Little Rickey Hill (Jesse Beery) smacks pebbles over the treetops using a stick as a makeshift bat. That’s because his pop, Pastor James Hill (Dennis Quaid) doesn’t believe in encouraging this “sport” by buying proper equipment. And he can’t afford it, as the family barely scrapes by (Sunday dinner is a pan of cornbread). Oh, plus Rickey can’t run the bases with any speed as he’s still wearing a pair of leg braces due to a degenerative spinal condition. Things get worse when the preacher is booted out by his surly congregation (he called them out for “chewin'” and smoking during his sermons). So, he’s got to pack up his three kids, his wife, and her mother-in-law, the no-nonsense Gram (Bonnie Bedelia), and hit the road. Through a bit of chance, they learn of a nearby Texas town in need of a pastor. But there, Rickey’s love of baseball is stoked by the grade school team, Thus begins a new battle of wills between father and son, until Rickey learns he can shed the braces. Flash forward several years as teen Rickey (Colin Ford) is a homer-smackin’ high school phenom. But an injury benches Rickey and gives more fuel to his father’s hopes that he’ll follow him to the pulpit. Somehow the town rallies to fund the needed surgery. But can Rickey heal in time to impress a major league scout, Red Murff (Scott Glenn) at an upcoming audition? And will Papa Hill ever embrace his son’s athletic aspirations?

Though he’s not “on the field”, the film’s “heavy hitter” is Quaid (a “rookie” no more) who easily dominates every scene as the stern, but often sympathetic man of God. He’s able to channel a bit of that old “Jerry Lee” charisma (can that FIRE flick really be 34 years old) when Pastor Hill is delivering “the word” and can be quite intimidating as the strict head of the household. But Quaid shows us that hint of uncertainty as his faith is tested time and again. And he’s got a very strong spiritual sparring partner in Bedelia as the feisty, sassy Gram who won’t be “bulldozed” by his ways. Ford is a likable and sweet-natured sports hero as the slugger aware of his gifts but thwarted by his physical “restraints”. Ditto for Berry as the pre-teen version, as he aches for a chance to take on a bully who taunts him with the moniker “Robo-boy”. Glenn is stern and savvy as the baseball “wizard” who needs to test Rickey’s stamina and skills.

Director Jeff Celentano strives to bring a new spin on the familiar story of the athlete hero fighting a debilitating illness (BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY amongst many others), while addressing conflicting religious beliefs (Papa Hill believes baseball cards encourage the worship of false idols). The father is the main obstacle (after Rickey’s health) and he often seems a tad obstinate but he’s never cruel and is capable of change. And though I must praise the producers for giving the press access (most faith-based films aren’t screened for us), I had problems with the odd script choices. I attended services through the 70s and never encountered the chain-smoking congregations shown here (even at Hill’s new church), so it feels contrived. More than that, the huge leap in time, probably a decade) as Rickey goes from grade-schooler to high school senior seems like two separate stories barely stitched together. What changed in those “shadow years”? Plus the “rekindled romance” feels a tad “tossed in”, more to give Rickey a “sounding board”. And the mix of movie pros with more inexperienced actors can be distracting. These quibbles just can’t push my interest in this “true tale” over THE HILL. Maybe a solid double or so…

1.5 Out of 4

THE HILL is now playing in theatres everywhere

SPINNING GOLD – Review

The film year of 2022 pretty much ended with a “music biopic”, WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (at least I’m making it the “year’s end” as it was the last advance screening I attended). It did fairly well at the box office but didn’t come close to the critical and award accolades of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY or JUDY. But that’s not going to halt Hollywood from “mining” this material, and so we’re getting a tune-filled “true” tale at the end of 2023’s first quarter. Oh, but this has a twist in that it doesn’t center around a beloved performer. No, this concerns the head of a record company. Yeah kids, in those ancient days before streaming and downloading, people went to brick-and-mortar stores and bought discs produced by these companies AKA recording labels. And one of the biggest of them in the mid-70s into the early 80s was an “upstart” dubbed Casablanca Records, whose goal was to produce “top of the charts” hits. And for a time they were very adept at SPINNING GOLD.


The name of the company is a knowing wink at their “head honcho”, the flamboyant “schmoozer” who named himself Neil Bogart (Jeremy Jordon), hence he’s no relation to the 40s film icon. After a fluffy bit of fantasy involving the tune “Oh, Happy Day”, and a disastrous “showcase” for one of his (eventual) “super-bands”, he guides us through his early years, bouncing from job to job while watching his hustling pop Al (Jason Isaacs) fail to grab the “gold ring”. He meets his future wife Beth (Michelle Monaghan) while teaching dance lessons at her family’s hotel. Soon after, he’s a promoter for MGM records (even scoring as a singer with a “single” tune), which leads to a big spot at “indie” Buddha Records. But Neil has dreams of his own company, so with a few “shady loans from casino mogul Big Joey (Vincent Pastore), he creates Casablanca Records along with a loyal motel crew/staffers (Peyton List, Jay Pharoah, Dan Fogler, and James Wolk). After “poaching” a few established music stars like the Isley Brothers and Gladys Knight, the team hunts for new “properties”. Giorgio Moroder (Sebastian Maniscalo) has produced a unique sound with a transplanted US vocalist in Germany, Donna Summer (Tayla Parx), but what really interests Neil is this hard-rockin’ band that mixes make-up, kinky black jumpsuits, and pyrotechnics called Kiss. And he’s really, really interested in their manager Joyce (Lyndsy Fonseca). Over the next few years, Neil and his posse dodge creditors, evade vengeful record rivals and sign hitmakers like the Village People, Bill Withers, and Parliment as they ride the roller coaster of fame and fortune. But can Steven keep his professional and personal life from crumbling as the temptations of the time, especially that “nose candy”, lure him into a downward spiral?

Making extensive use of his stage musical skills (the original Broadway “Newsies”), Jordan’s giving it his all to make Bogart an endearing “wildcard”. It all comes together best when Jordan joins the “hitmakers’ during the creative process, especially with Knight (who’d take a “Midnight Train to Houston”), but he flounders when the script tries to get past Bogart’s moral failing, making his repeated defense of his adultery, “It’s complicated”, a lazy punchline. In order to make this complex, flawed character work, perhaps a more seasoned screen presence was needed, though Jordan is a talent on the rise. Monaghan is captivating as the first wife under his spell, but the story jettisons her in the last act, reducing her to Neil’s suffering “doormat”, while Fonseca’s Joyce pushes against the “other woman” label, she’s fair too tolerant of Neil’s recklessness. Isaac’s as the neer-do-well papa drops into the tale randomly, to remind Neil of his roots and to show him that the “apple doesn’t fall far…”. Wolk, List, and Gad are almost interchangeable as Neil’s “funky flunkies” (Gad is the go-to comic “pitbull”), but SNL vet Pharoah is effective as Neil’s “window to reality”. Ditto for another “SNL-er”, Chris Redd as a DJ who becomes the “well-oiled” doorway for Casablanca’s product. Unfortunately, the funny Maniscalo has little to do as producer Moroder, other than affect a low ethnic rumble line delivery. Of the label’s “talent,” the stand-outs are Casey Like as the surly mercenary Kiss frontman Gene Simmons and Parx as the often perplexed but sultry songstress Summer.

Since the person at the heart of this biopic is the son of the main subject (with his other heirs listed as producers, you might think that Timothy Scott Bogart had written and directed an affectionate “fluff piece”, extolling his pop’s genius. Well, there’s a bit of that, though he doesn’t gloss over the “dents and dings” in Neil’s armor. Yup, the high points of his legacy shine through, with some stars getting better treatment than others (why do the Village People only get a minute or so, almost as an afterthought). We’re meant to think of Neil as a charming “rascal”, a “bad boy” made good by out-hustling “the squares”. But mostly his showboating comes off as a flashy arrogance, a grating ‘showboat” constantly pulling fiery magician’s flash-paper out of his pockets (what “money man” would take him seriously). we even get an ongoing “debt or profit” title card for “time jumps”. Like his tricks, Neil and his antics become tiresome over the over two-hour runtime. Ditto for the 70s fashions and facial hair (it’s kitschy, we get it) and the constant chainsmoking (an excuse for the young cast to seem cooler and “edgy”). And could they have picked a more cliched final fadeout tune? Despite its “adult themes” (a recent hyped-up movie ursine would snort it up), this “jukebox musical life story” seems more suited to basic cable TV. The end result is closer to zirconium with the ponderous SPINNING GOLD.

1.5 Out of 4

SPINNING GOLD opens in select theatres on Friday, March 31, 2023