Nick Jonas as Danny and Paul Rudd as Rick in Power Ballad. Photo Credit: David Cleary
Check out the trailer for director John Carney’s POWER BALLAD, starring Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, and Jack Reynor.
When Rick (Paul Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves – even if it means risking everything he cares about. From writer-director John Carney (Sing Street, Once), POWER BALLAD is a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition.
The film made its World Premiere on Sunday, March 1st at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre as the Closing Night Gala of the Dublin International Film Festival.
POWER BALLAD is scheduled for its North American premiere at SXSW on March 14, before it’s US theatrical release June 5, 2026.
“…despite Carney’s track record of successful music-based features – including 2007’s Once, which won the Oscar for best original song as well as a Sundance audience award, Sing Street, and Begin Again – the filmwas a struggle to get financed. Until Marvel star Paul Rudd signed on. Rudd plays a wedding singer whose interaction with a rock star (Nick Jonas) causes a copyright drama over a song they co-create one drunken evening following an Irish wedding.”
“It’s increasingly hard for somebody like me to get movies made because they’re original stories,” Carney reflects. “There’s no IP or remake or I’m not telling anybody else’s story. I couldn’t get the film made without a mighty star attached. Once Paul came on board, the whole domino thing happened. He was such a straight-up person. He was, ‘I’m in your movie. Go and get the money. I’ll see you on set.’ Which is what everybody needs and dreams of.”
Music is from Gary Clark and John Carney (original songs and score).
Hot off the record-setting resurrection of EVIL DEAD RISE, writer/director Lee Cronin turns to one of the most iconic horror stories of all time with an audacious and twisted retelling: LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY.
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace – eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
Cronin’s now made mummies scary again.
The film stars Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, with Veronica Falcón. The film is written and directed by Cronin, and produced by James Wan, Jason Blum and John Keville. The executive producers are Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Macdara Kelleher and Lee Cronin.
Cronin is supported behind the camera by a team of sterling film artisans, including director of photography Dave Garbett, production designer Nick Bassett, editor Bryan Shaw, costume designer Joanna Eatwell and casting by Terri Taylor and Sarah Domeier Lindo.
The score is from the awarding winning film and television composer Stephen McKeon, whose recent work includes Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, KIN, and The Cellar. He also composed the lovely score for QUEEN AND COUNTRY.
New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Present, A Wicked/Good Production, A Lee Cronin Film: LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, only in theaters and IMAX in North America on April 17, 2026, and internationally beginning 15 April 2026.
Hot off the record-setting resurrection of EVIL DEAD RISE, writer/director Lee Cronin turns to one of the most iconic horror stories of all time with an audacious and twisted retelling: LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY.
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace—eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
The film stars Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, with Veronica Falcón. The film is written and directed by Cronin, and produced by James Wan, Jason Blum and John Keville. The executive producers are Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Macdara Kelleher and Lee Cronin.
Cronin is supported behind the camera by a team of sterling film artisans, including director of photography Dave Garbett, production designer Nick Bassett, editor Bryan Shaw, costume designer Joanna Eatwell, music by Stephen McKeon and casting by Terri Taylor and Sarah Domeier Lindo.
New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Present, A Wicked/Good Production, A Lee Cronin Film: LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, only in theaters and IMAX in North America on April 17, 2026.
Laia Costa will also star in Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, the Atomic Monster/Blumhouse production for New Line that just started shooting in Ireland. Cronin’s Doppelgängers banner is also producing. Costa joins Jack Reynor, who was recently announced, in the film.
The film, which is still keeping its logline under wraps, is written and directed by Cronin, and marks the first collaboration for the recently combined companies, helmed by James Wan and Jason Blum, with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. The film will be released on April 17, 2026.
Laia Costa starred in the critically-acclaimed, single-take film, Victoria, for which she won the LOLA (Germany’s equivalent of the Oscar®) for “Best Actress” and was nominated for a European Film Award for “Best European Actress” and the prestigious BAFTA EE Rising Star Award. Film credits include Only You with Josh O’Connor, Newness with Nicholas Hoult, Miguel Arteta’s Duck Butter, Nicolas Pesce’s Piercing, and Dan Fogelman’s Life Itself. Currently starring in Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time, additional TV credits include Devils for Sky Atlantic, AMC’s Soulmates and HBO Spain’s limited series Foodie Love from creator Isabel Coixet. Costa won the Goya Award for “Best Lead Actress” for Lullaby (aka Cinco Lobitos), which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. She was nominated the following year for another Goya Award for “Best Lead Actress” for Un Amor.
Costa is represented by Gersh, Anonymous Content and Hamilton Hodell.
Lee Cronin first garnered attention with his debut feature film, The Hole in the Ground, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 to critical acclaim. His sophomore feature, Evil Dead Rise, was theatrically released through New Line Cinema in April 2023. The movie made a significant impact, debuting at SXSW and grossing $147 million worldwide, showcasing Cronin’s talent for creating intense and captivating horror films.
Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are co-financing the film. James Wan, Jason Blum and John Keville are producers on the film. Michael Clear and Judson Scott are executive producers. Alayna Glasthal is the executive overseeing the project for Atomic Monster.
Does something magical happen when you create music? Many folks believe that. Perhaps a main proponent of that notion is Irish filmmaker John Carney. He’s illustrated that belief in a trilogy of beloved films: ONCE, BEGIN AGAIN, and SING STREET. And now he’s stretched that trilogy into a “quadrilogy” (perhaps calling them a quartet is more in line with the music themes) with his new film opening this weekend. But this tune-filled dramedy has a “hook” that is almost universal. Here the songs are in service of mending a family. It can’t completely repair this particular family, but it may just bring this single mother and her teenage son a tad closer, so at least they’re not spending their evenings screaming at one another. Adding to the tension is their “hand-to-mouth” existence, being part of the hard-working lower middle class of Ireland. That’s the setting for the story of this dup, hence the title FLORA AND SON.
When we first meet Flora (Eve Hewson), she’s charging into the local pub-turned-disco, at “full speed”, hand in hand with her best “gal pal”. Soon they’re splitting up on the dance floor in search of “after-hours companionship”. And when her “overnight guest” at her shabby apartment hears mention of her son, he practically bursts out the front door ala’ the Kool-Aid Man. Soon we meet that fourteen-year-old son Max (Oren Kinlan) when a local constable comes over to deliver a stern warning about his petty thievery. One more “pinch” and he’s in the “system”. When the “bobby” leaves, the two begin their regular “screamfest”. Flora is not getting any help from Max’s dad, Ian (Jack Reynor), a former rock bassist who’s now sharing a nicer pad with his wealthy new girlfriend, though Ian gets Max on most weekends. Hmm, Max has inherited his pop’s musical interests, though Max is more into rap and techno-pop. When Flora sees a beaten-up guitar sticking out of a dumpster, she grabs it, has it repaired, and gifts it to Max as a belated birthday present. And…he wants no part of it (cue another nasty “row”). But it grabs the interest of Flora, especially after seeing a singing competition sign outside a nearby bar. Now she’s got to learn to play it. After viewing countless video pitches for online lessons, she settles on a hunky, “mellow dude” from the States, Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). After an awkward first session, the two begin to connect through the “web”. Could this become more than a “teacher/student” rapport, even though he’s thousands of miles away? And what of Max? Could music mend the estranged mother/son bond? More importantly, could this shared passion keep Max on the “straight and narrow” and out of the detention facility?
She’s the first name in the title and really the first person on screen, so I’ll start off singing (not as nicely as the leads do) the praises of Ms. Hewson as the delightfully shocking, sometimes abrasive, and always unpredictable Flora. She provides the pulsing beat to this story as we watch her fighting the courts, her friends, her ex, and her own inner insecurities. Hewson perfectly captures Flora’s “take no prisoners’ stance, but she also shows us how this “tough mama” tries to onceal her worries and concerns, especially for “and son”. I’ll get to him in a moment since Hewson’s strongest scene partner may be that “laid-back” charmer, Mr. Gordon-Levitt. Denied physical interaction, JGL’s Jeff communicates with his crooning and through his questioning eyes. Jeff’s struggling to keep a “professional distance”, though we seem him letting his guard down as this Irish “wild card” draws him in, and, somehow, becomes his teacher. And now to Max, who starts off an a smarmy punk, but Kinlan gives him a sad vulnerability. whether yearning to fit in with the “lads” or impress the local “video vixen”.Max has an emdearing awkwardness which offsets his boasting rap lyrics (which are truly hysterical). And proving that the “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, his equally talented pop Ian also scores lots of laughs thanks to the warm, comedic turn by Reynor (so good in Carney’s SING STREET). We’re set up to dislike him as a “deadbeat dad”, but we soon see that Ian is trying to “step up”, and is eventually drawn back into his boy’s life via music (Reynor’s face as he hears Max’s song mix is priceless).
Oh, I forgot to mention that this smart script is also from director Carney. He deftly balances the scenes showing the joy of musical creation with some hilarious exchanges. and plenty of heart-breaking drama. At the story’s onset, it appears that Max will not find his way and will soon be crushed by society. We can see how Flora becomes his lifeline by never giving up or giving in. Plus we get to witness her renewed joy and happiness. Though she’s inspired by that contest money, the music becomes the oxygen invigorating her. Carney makes that part of the tale come alive using a clever visual trick to break through the laptop screen to forge an intimate connection between Flora and Jeff. And though everything’s not neatly wrapped up by the sweet finale, we’re left with hope for all the principals. Sure, it’s another charming ode to melody from Mr. Carney, but it’s also a wondrous story of a fractured family who can learn a new way to harmonize. To put it simply, FLORA AND SON truly hits all the right notes.
3.5 Out of 4
FLORA AND SON is now playing at select theatres and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas. It also streams exclusively on AppleTV+ beginning on Friday, September 29, 2023
We Are Movie Geeks is giving you tickets to an evening celebrating the upcoming Apple Original Film FLORA AND SON where you and a guest will be treated to a live musical performance by The Irish Aires followed by a special screening of the film. FLORA AND SON in theaters and streaming on Apple TV+ September 29.
Visit the link below FOR YOUR CHANCE TO SNAG TICKETS while supplies last! Concessions will be provided to those that attend.
Well, here’s a more somber crime thriller to quiet things down in the multiplexes as the Summer movie season of noisy blockbusters wraps up with the Labor Day weekend. Its setting is only a few years back, but most of its themes are fairly timeless as we bear witness to another young person (actually several) from the mean streets of the East Coast who is swallowed up by the drug trade. Oh, but there’s one sole (really aided by a couple more) who won’t allow him to be another statistic, another outline on the filthy sidewalk. Now she’s not your typical crusading heroine, as she’s dealing with her own flaws and weaknesses. Still, this struggling newspaper reporter earns the right to be called THE GOOD MOTHER.
It opens on the dark early morning streets of Albany, NY in 2016 as a man in his twenties dashes from corner to corner, Soon we realize that he’s not an enthusiastic jogger, rather he’s running for his life just as headlights engulf him. Cut to the dingy bedroom of the home of his mother (hence the title) Marissa (Hilary Swank) as she pushes away several empty bottles (fallen soldiers) to stop her cell phone alarm. A quick cuppa’ Joe and she’s on her way to the newspaper office. She barely makes the staff meeting where her worried editor keeps droning on about making the paper’s website go “viral”. Marissa is bolted awake when her police officer son Toby (Jack Reynor) knocks on the conference room door to pull her out for some bad, bad news. Flash forward to the gravesite of her other son Michael. As Marrisa leaves, she spots a very pregnant young woman hovering over the plot. She’s Paige (Olivia Cooke), Michael’s girlfriend. Marissa greets her with a slap, accusing her of forcing her son back into drug running (his stealing to support his habit strained the mother-son relationship). Toby has a few leads, including the now missing childhood pal of Michael’s, ‘Ducky’. Later that night Paige is awakened by home invaders. She hides Michael’s old suitcase (with some of his “product”) and seeks shelter from …Marissa. Despite the ugly scene at the cemetery, the duo decide to join forces and find out who killed Michael and why. The answers could be much more than either anticipated.
Aside from the main plot of the film, another real mystery (and a bit of a tragedy) is the lack of meaty big-screen roles for one of the most honored actresses in cinema (two Oscars). Luckily episodic TV has stepped up (though it’s a broadcast network series) until the complex, troubled Marissa is given vibrant life by Ms. Swank. Yes, she’s similar to the hard-drinkin’ and livin’ newshounds of noir flicks, but we see that it has taken a toll on her relationships and splintered her family. Swank has the dazed, burned-out body language down, then shows us how this new mission actually invigorates her, giving her a purpose. That’s best shown in her scenes with the talented Cooke as the scared but dogged Paige, who won’t be brushed aside as the “knocked-up” junkie’s squeeze. At times, she supplies the passion for truth when Marissa begins to despair. Reynor, as Toby, brings real depth to the “good son” role as we see him begin to fear for his mom’s deep dive into the dangerous part of the battered city. Though he’s always supplying intel, Reynor shows us a beat cop torn by duty and family. Also of note are Dilone as Toby’s steadfast supportive spouse Gina and Hopper Penn as the haunted, trapped Ducky.
Director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte keeps the plot moving at a steady pace while giving the setting a look of muddy remorse gleaned from the screenplay he co-wrote from Madison Harrison. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer much of anything new covering ground recently tread by premium cable miniseries like the “Mare of Easttown” or “American Rust”. Nods to the opioid crisis and references to the dying newspaper industry feel like tacked-on bits of business to give it a “current event” feel. The main glitch may be in the last act in which big reveals are telegraphed and the final denouncement is muddled. leaving us to wonder just how Marissa may act and what the consequences will be. Luckily, Swank is compelling as the scribe, and Cooke makes for a spirited scene partner for her. It’s great to see Swank at the top of her acting game, but she can’t quite overcome the cliched feel of the script at the heart of THE GOOD MOTHER.
2 out of 4
THE GOOD MOTHER opens in select theatres on Friday, September 1, 2023
Here’s a film whose behind-the-scenes (and one in “in front”) story may be just as, if not more, interesting as the plot. It addresses the ages-old battle between art and commerce, but it’s not to say that the two are always mutually exclusive. To put it a bit more clearly, this highlights the cinematic clashes between big-budget blockbusters and small gritty “indie” dramas. Also it offers a test for the “career trajectory” of filmmakers. And it’s not a new thing. After the box office explosion of STAR WARS in 1977, George Lucas told the press that after producing the two follow-ups, his new directorial efforts would be personal “artistic” experiments. But when he got back in the director’s chair 22 years later he returned to that “galaxy far, far away” for the “prequel trilogy”. Similar thing happened a few years later with Peter Jackson, who talked up intimate dramas after the Lord of the Rings trio, then remade KING KONG before he was back in Middle Earth for the HOBBIT flicks. Now here’s the directing duo behind, literally, the biggest money-making spectacular ever, who are really going ahead with those old intentions as they get their “down and dirty” with the drug-fueled crime thriller CHERRY.
Well, perhaps this is more a fable ala’ Gump or Garp, though more brutal and cautionary. As we meet our twenty-something hero, merely called “Cheery” (Tom Holland), he’s cruising the “mean streets” of Cleveland prior to his latest bit of lawlessness. Ah but he wasn’t always a criminal. His story jumps back nearly a decade, when he was drifting between his college classes, partying with his old neighborhood “buds” Forrest Goodluck (James Lightfoot) and “Cousin” Joe (Michael Gandolfini), and bouncing from one eatery gig (busboy, bartender) to the next. Then he was “gobsmacked” by his “fantasy girl made real” Emily (Ciara Bravo). Though she’s from “the right side of the track” , the two begin a romance. All seems well until Emily tells him that once the semester is over, she plans to continue her studies elsewhere, perhaps overseas. Cherry decides his best option for the future would be as an Army medic and enlists. Ah, but she’s changed her mind about leaving, so the pair impulsively tie the knot prior to his basic training. The near constant abuse from the drill sergeants can’t prepare him for the horrors of early 21st century Afghanistan. Cherry returns to the states a broken man whose “night terrors” are treated by government prescriptions, including Oxycotin. From there it’s a quick trip to heroin addcition. After several tries to get her hubby “clean”, Emily joins him. Soon the “junkie” couple rack-up a massive debt to the local supplier known as “Pills and Coke” (Jack Reynor). His threats of violence seemingly leave Cheery no choice but to begin his crime career by knocking off local banks.Which circles right around to our initial introduction to him. Can Cherry end this vicious circle before both he and Emily end up in the grave or in prison?
Taking a break from the red and blue bodysuit, Holland reminds us of his formidable range, showing us that he’s much more than the nice young lad next door (though, making the web-slinger so relatable is no mean feat itself). Can it really be nine years since he astounded audiences with his stunning work in the tsunami tear-jerker THE IMPOSSIBLE (I recall thinking that audiences should keep an eye out for him)? In this lead role, Holland convincingly morphs from casual college kid to hardened war survivor to burnt-out scavenger forced into felonies. Through it all, we see Cherry’s adoration for Emily even through his often stoned eyes, which gives the often irresponsible drifter a real beating heart beneath the needles and the stick-ups. Cherry is truly a multi-layered character and Holland makes his every struggle vibrant and real. It helps that he’s got crackling chemistry with screen newcomer Bravo who strives to remove Emily from her unattainable “goddess” pedestal, as she shows us the “cracks’ in her seemingly perfect image. At first we believe that she’s merely toying with Cherry who’s her “walk on the wild side”, but Bravo shows us Emily’s sensitive side as she truly lets him into her heart. This makes her descent into Hell, tangled up as she tries to saves her soulmate, so devastating, especially as she shoots up during her school day. And though he doesn’t appear until the story’s tense third act, Reynor is pure banal evil as the dealer exploiting the couple. “P and C’ is full of blustery threats, but revealing his true nature when “aiding” Cherry’s “cash grabs”. A sequence in which he taunts an innocent with his deadly wares is truly chilling.
And the director duo collaborated with Holland three times before. Of course, we’re talking about the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe, who put together the biggest hit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and of all time, AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Here’s they’re returning to their 2002 roots (WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD) with the low-rent crime caper adding maybe a touch of their character comedy YOU, ME, AND DEPREE (though not many laughs on this one). The men are able to “go with the flow” of this fable of one man’s folly and fortunes, going from first love in the first chapter (and the film does have chapter headings) to exhausting battle drama (the basic training scenes have a true FULL METAL JACKET vibe, while the desert shoot-outs are as harrowing as last year’s THE OUTPOST) before settling into an addiction crime spree right out of DRUGSTORE COWBOY. Giving the film much of its dramatic heft is the screenplay by Angela Russo-Otstot and Jessica Goldberg adapting the Nico Walker novel, but there’s still touches of keen satire as they dole out funny spoof names of Cherry’s “targets” ( “Capitol None” and “Sh*#ty Bank”). The epilogue may feel a tad rushed, but by the end, you feel like you’ve truly shared a seat in a rollercoaster of a life. The Russos haven’t lost their touch with the “reglar’ Joes” after bringing life to our modern mythology (though the pace doesn’t zip as with that previous epic). Like its namesake, CHERRY is often sweet, but its look at the “have-nots” can be bitter and very biting. It’s a vivid “vacay” from the MCU.
3 Out of 4
CHERRY opens in select theaters on Friday, February 26, 2021.
CHERRY also streams exclusively on Apple TV+ beginning March 12, 2021
Happy 2019 film fans! What better way to ring in another 365 days of movies than to start things off with a good origin story? I’m thinking a thought balloon is popping over your head with the phrase “What the-?”. Yes, January’s a bit early for the arrival of this cinema year’s new crop of superheroes. Indeed, CAPTAIN MARVEL flies into the multiplex in early March, with another Cap..whoops, that’s another tangled legal tale, hero SHAZAM hot on her, um, boots a few weeks later. Those crusaders debuted in the comic pages, while this new film concerns a real-life hero (with many calling her a true superhero). This new movie bio, much like 2017’s MARSHALL focuses on an early case, before fame and a national position (this sub-genre goes back many decades, to films such as YOUNG MR. LINCOLN and YOUNG TOM EDISON). And like that former film, this is all about a Supreme Court Justice, one that is still “on the bench”. A few months ago she was also the subject of a well-received (box office and critical) feature documentary RBG. Now comes the “docu-drama” that presents her early years, from college to challenging court cases issued ON THE BASIS OF SEX.
The film starts at a start, actually, the beginning of the new school year, Fall at Havard Law School. Twenty-three-year-old Ruth Ginsberg (Felicity Jones) is one of nine women and 500 men in the 1956 incoming class. She encounters gender discrimination in Professor Brown’s (Stephen Root) class, and later at a welcoming dinner thrown by the school’s dean, Erwin Griswald (Sam Waterston). Luckily she has great support at home from husband and fellow law student (mostly business and taxes) Martin (Armie Hammer) and their toddler daughter Jane. The young family is put to the test when Martin is diagnosed with testicular cancer. As he undergoes treatment, Ruth attends his classes in addition to her own. With her time split, she soars to the top of her class. Soon Martin is offered a job in NYC, But Griswald insists that she cannot earn her Havard degree by finishing her last classes at Columbia. After her graduation there, Ruth cannot get work at any of the male-dominated law firms, so she returns to Columbia as part of the faculty. Fast forward to the early 1970s, as the Woman’s Liberation movement dominates the news. It also becomes the focus of Ruth’s mostly female class. They, along with Ruth’s now teenage daughter Jane (Cailee Spaeny), urge her to fight for the cause in the courts. But it’s a pro-bono case from her husband that sparks her interest. A single man in Denver, Charles Moritz (Chris Mulkey) is suing the tax courts over denying him a deduction for hiring a caregiver for his ailing mother, a deduction always granted to a woman. Ruth is certain that this is a civil rights issue and tries to enlist the offices of the ACLU, now run by a childhood friend, Mel Wulf (Justin Theroux). When the new General Solicitor in DC, former Havard head Griswald, hears of the case he gathers Prof. Brown and up-and-comer lawyer Jim Bozarth (Jack Reynor) to stop her from “destroying society”. When a higher profile equality rights case becomes available, Wulf pressures Ruth to get Moritz to settle out of court. But will Ruth “punt” on that case in order to try for a “touchdown” on another one?
In her first feature starring role since the last truly great flick in the franchise, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, Jones ably carries the film as the determined defender (and interpreter) of the law. She shows us the brilliant mind we’ve been aware of in the last few decades, but we also are privy to the very human being beneath the robes. There are the mutual respect and passion she shares with Martin, along with her frustrations with daughter Jane. Through Jones’s wide expressive eyes we see Ruth’s exhilaration as she arrives at a way to change minds, along with her sadness when dealing with those whose minds are immovable, particularly in her faculty dealing and in one promising job interview that suddenly derails. Hammer makes for a great partner in lew and life as the ever-supportive hubby who knows how to play “the game’ but is just as angry about “playing” it as is his wife. Another partner, who’s often a sparring “devil’s advocate” is Theroux, who imbues Wulf with lots of gregarious charm and pessimistic stubbornness. He thinks the world of Ruth, but he’s got to be convinced that she can follow through. The same could be said for Spaeny who makes Jane more than just a cliched sullen teenager. Her passion is the fuel for her mother, along with Ruth’s hope for a better future. Across the aisle is Waterson who’s a great hissable villain as an old “dinosaur” that refuses to change with times, thinking he and his cronies can stop the bulldozers coming for their “old boys’ club”, with Root and Reynor as his button-down, uptight henchmen. Making the most of smaller roles are Mulkey as the everyman who doesn’t think his protest matters to Kathy Bates in full rabble-rousing, cantankerous mode as a former suffragette and defender of the underdog Dorothy Kenyon.
Mimi Leder, directing her first feature film after a decade of TV work, brings real fire and fury to the often stodgy world of litigation and research. She cuts through the montages of library research and late night compositions to show us the adrenaline rush of creating the best way to plead the case and change the way the world can work for the neglected. Leder keeps the pacing on a steady track despite the lurches forward in time via the first-time feature screenplay by Daniel Stiepleman. He makes a formidable “Justice-for-all League” of Ruth, Martin, Jane, and Mel while Griswald and his cronies are reduced to “hand-wringing” members of the “Legion of Doom” (“I, Lex Luthor, propose we stop Mrs. Ginsberg! What say you, Bizarro?” “Me am like Mrs. Ginsberg!”). And sometimes the period inequities are hammered home with little subtlety (just how many servers of color did the Griswalds hire for the event). Kudos though to the production team for excellent recreations of the late 50’s and early ’70s, from fashions to furnishings to Mrs. G’s flattering hairstyles (and always with great gloves). Despite the story simplifications, this is a tale that truly resonates with the headlines. Its ending is an invigorating “call to arms” that should inspire audiences of all ages, though this would make for an excellent “AV Day” for any high school and college history classes. ON THE BASIS OF SEX is a terrific, engaging, and well-acted “infotainment”. Movie-court is adjourned!
3.5 Out of 5
ON THE BASIS OF SEX opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas
An otherworldly vision comes home when Kin arrives on Digital November 6 and on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand November 20 from Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company.
An otherworldly vision comes home when Kin arrives on Digital November 6 and on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand November 20 from Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company. From the producers of Arrival and TV’s “Stranger Things”, this riveting film follows a recently released ex-con and his adopted teenage brother who find themselves on the run from a vengeful criminal, the feds, and a group of relentless soliders, with only a mysterious and powerful weapon at their side. An emotional sci-fi story about family, adulthood, mystery, and time, Kin stars Jack Reynor (Sing Street, Glassland), Teen Choice Award nominee Zoë Kravitz (Choice Movie Chemistry, X-Men: First Class, 2011), with two-time Golden Globe® nominee Dennis Quaid (Best Actor – TV Movie, “The Special Relationship,” 2011; Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, Far from Heaven, 2003), and Oscar® nomine James Franco (Best Actor, 127 Hours, 2010), and introducing Myles Truitt (upcoming Dragged Across Concrete).
Recently released from prison, Jimmy (Reynor) hopes to reconnect with his younger adopted brother, Eli (Truitt), and estranged father (Quaid). But after a run-in with a vengeful criminal (Franco), Jimmy and Eli become fugitives with one hope for survival: a metallic box from another dimension that transforms into a superpowered weapon and leads Eli to discover his true identity—a hero destined for greatness—in this thrilling action-adventure with a sci-fi twist.
Take home KIN and experience over 5 hours of special features, including an in-depth conversation between co-directors Jonathan and Josh Baker and respected filmmakers including Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man), Laurent Bouzereau (special features producer, Jaws, Back to the Future, Ready Player One) and Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Tusk) that looks back at the legacy and importance of special features for aspiring filmmakers. The release also includes an 8-part documentary, 10 deleted scenes, the original short upon which the film is based, and an audio commentary with co-directors Jonathan and Josh Baker and screenwriter Daniel Casey. Experience four times the resolution of Full HD with the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes Dolby Vision HDR™, bringing the stunning cinematography of this out-of-this-world sci-fi film to life. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. The KIN 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack,Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $29.99, $24.99, and $19.98, respectively.
4K UHD / BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary with co-directors Jonathan and Josh Baker and screenwriter Daniel Casey
“Thicker Than Water: The Making of Kin” 8-Part Documentary
“Enhanced Visual FX Breakdown” Featurette
“Bag Man: Original Short” with optional audio commentary by co-directors Jonathan and Josh Baker
10 Deleted Scenes
“Learned Behavoir: Special Features at Work” hour-long round table discussion between Jonathan and Josh Baker and reknown filmmakers including 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg, Swiss Army Man directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, legendary special features producer Laurent Bouzereau (Jaws, Back to the Future, Ready Player One) and special features godfather Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Tusk).
