Uncategorized

The Morning Show is not only one of faces of the AppleTV streaming platform, it has consistently been among the app’s highly anticipated and viewed series. Can’t say I’m surprised; this is a show that showcases Hollywood’s elite acting talents in starring as well as guest-starring capacity, and Season 3 of the series continues to follow that recipe. Let’s start with the main cast, which includes Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, and Mark Duplass; these four have made up the core members of the cast for the show’s four-season run. They are consistent faces that appear in every episode, with the storyline wrapped around these four. This is also the first season that does not include Steve Carrell’s character, signifying the show moving in a different direction and away from the scandal that was a recurring theme of the first two seasons. The show also featured a number of new faces this season including Nicole Beharie, Jon Hamm, Stephen Fry, Tig Notario, Clive Standen, and Natalie Morales.

It’s been a while since I’ve written a movie review, so I decided to approach this review rather intuitively and candidly; write what comes to mind, and what most impressed me. Well, you can color me impressed! I have to say that You Can See Everything (2026) was absolutely entrancing in a way that kept you interested, not necessarily in the outcome for Elizabeth Holmes, but entirely in the direction the directors (Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim) were going to take with their storytelling. It was just as much a documentary about Elizabeth Holmes as it was a documentary about the making of the documentary. It seems as though the final outcome of what we see in theaters is the natural fruition of what actually unfolded during the filming of You Can See Everything. What made it fascinating for me is that the process of documenting Elizabeth Holmes becoming inseparable from the story itself. The co-director, Nathan Fielder, is not simply observing his subject; his own reactions, uncertainties, and interpersonal exchanges gradually become part of what the audience is invited to examine. In this way, the documentary turns its investigative lens back onto the investigator.

"The truth is, I think a lot of people are just too afraid to admit that South Park sucks now. Yeah, everyone knows it. South Park sucks now, and it's all because of this political crap. They're just getting totally bogged down in it. Remember when we used to do stuff? Just us guys. Ever since this political crap took over, it's like what? Like what happened to us? South Park is getting ruined, and all of us Gen Alpha kids are just sitting around watching it happen."

I couldn't have written a better review myself. Parker and Stone nailed it. Right from the horse's mouth. I have loved South Park for decades, but this isn't the show I used to love. They've always been political, but it used to cut all of the folks. Now they've zeroed in on a single target, and deserved or not, it's just a rehash of what we already get on our news programs and papers, for those of you who remember what those are. I suspect that when we are all dead and gone, there will be two things we can count on continuing beyond the end of human civilization. The cockroaches will inherit the world, and they will all be watching South Park, the only television show still running.

“This is what Jackass looks like at 50.”

So this film provided me with a unique opportunity, because I was around when the first Jackass movie premiered in theaters, and I remember being blown away by it. It was this edgy and one-of-a-kind type show that showcased a group of mavericks like Johnny Knoxville, Bam Magera, Steve-O, and Chris Pontius. Now over twenty years later, that same group of mavericks are coming together for when they are declaring to be the final installment in this iconic franchise. However, if I’m honest, I figured Jackass Forever was going to be the last installment, but I’m not mad at the gang banding together one more time to state it outright and put a final exclamation point on the series. In regard to my previously mentioned unique opportunity, after I finished Jackass Best and Last, I went ahead and rewatched the original Jackass film. It’d been at least over a decade since I watched it, and I wanted to see how the first and the final film compared to one another. And my verdict was as follows: The first film is better. Even with all the time that passed between the two films, the first one is the clear winner. It was bolder and more original. Honestly, this final installment doesn’t compare.

I know I’m late to the game on this one, and it’s not because I haven’t wanted to see this film. Health issues have kept me away from the theater, and I’ve only recently been able to watch this. First off, I’m a fan of Curry Barker. I’ve watched several of his shorts, and his film Milk & Serial I’ve seen a few times. I’m not surprised by Barker's breakout success, though what I am surprised by is how Obsession and Backrooms, films done by content creators, have dominated the box office this year. This very much reminds me of when The Blair Witch Project came out, when this small film made on a shoestring budget took Hollywood and the world by storm, and from there it kicked off the found-footage boom, something we’re still seeing today. Now the big issue I had was needing to push away all the hype surrounding this film and give this film a fair shot; after all, the film is campaigning for best picture and a slew of other nominations as we approach award season. Is the film good, and does its box office revenue warrant this kind of praise?

"You know. Girls, drugs and rock 'n' roll."

On the surface, that's exactly what you might expect from Elijah Peel. The film is based on the real-life story of writer and co-director Kevin D. Sepe. He was a musician who pretty much did the whole rock-star scene. The drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll world. At some point he changed his ways. He found Jesus, and he managed to course-correct his life. Yes, this is a faith-based film. Kevin Sorbo is one of the film's stars, and he has dedicated his more recent career to faith-based and family kinds of films over the years. He's actually a pretty good fit for Kevin D. Sepe and the film. He's even left California to join us not-so-much party people here in Florida. OK. Roll your eyes if you must. Just know the kind of film you're getting with Elijah Peel, and I think you'll have a better chance of also being entertained.

"...Til the one day when the lady met this fellow, and they knew that it was much more than a hunch that this group must somehow form a family. That's the way we all became the Brady Bunch."

Has it really been nearly 60 years? Nothing make me feel as old as when a film or television show I watched as a kid celebrates some grand anniversary milestone. It's like birthdays without the ice cream cake. On September 26^th, The Brady Bunch celebrated its 57th anniversary. The 20-disc collection features the entire series.  You get all five seasons of the original television itself with some commentaries by creator Sherwood Schwartz himself as well as members of the Brady clan. That's 117 episodes of Brady. For me, going back to those very first episodes was a bit of a culture shock. The show was planted firmly in its time. From 1969 to 1974, the series was very much anchored into its place in time. More than that, the show began to influence and insert itself just as firmly in becoming a part of that very same culture. The theme song is pretty much known by anyone who has ever lived from that era to today.

“And you ... and you! Y'all went and did Scary Movie 3 & 4 without us!” 

I never thought we were going to get this movie. After the Wayans walked away from the franchise (rightfully so), I never fathomed the idea that we might one day see Shawn and Marlon return to the franchise. Yet here we are, and I only wish that we would have gotten it sooner. Maybe then I could have resonated with it better. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved it, but there was more than one joke that missed it mark with me. The film reminded of a time capsule. When it is unearthed, nostalgia transports you back to the time when you first buried it. However, you are not quite the person that you were back then, and your sense of humor may not be the same as it was. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Shawn and Marlon are unquestionably masters of their trade, and they slip back into their roles effortlessly, as does Regina Hall. Anna Faris, not so much.

"My cousin and I have very different ideas about what it means to be a hero. He sees the good in everyone, and I see the truth." 

Since Endgame, I’ve been waiting on DC to seize the momentum away from Marvel. The MCU has essentially been waffling since that epic conclusion, so I figured that DC would engage in some carpe diem and saturate the market in order to pull the focus away from their rival. And yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case. We are lucky if we get one movie a year, and if I’m honest, the one we get isn’t spectacular; they are just average. I wasn’t blown away by last year's Superman, and I wasn’t blown away by this year’s Supergirl. Milly Alcock was a great choice, and I won’t dispute that, and Jason Momoa is carbon-copy casting for Lobo, but the quality of story makes these top-tier casting choices wasted effort. In a time when DC should be giving us a layered story that draws us in, they give us a straightforward fish-out-of-water story about a girl and her dog with a dash of space pirates.

"Protect me today in all my travels along the road's way. Give me your warning sign when danger is near that I may stop while the path is clear." Prayer of intercession of Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers.

There's been a lot of talk in the last few years that Saint Christopher had been stripped of his sainthood. Of course, that isn't true at all. He had his feast day taken away, as all saints do at one time or another. You see, there are only 365 days to a standard year, and there are far more saints than there are days of the year. His feast day was given up to Saint James, the apostle. Why go through this bit about Saint Christopher, you might be asking. You see, the old boy is quite the center of the latest horror film by director Andre Ovredal. His last hit was the Dracula spin-off film The Last Voyage Of The Demeter, which was one of the best horror films of that year. He's returned to his somewhat folk-horror roots with Passenger, and once again it's the best horror film I've encountered this year. It's now out on Blu-ray out from Alliance Home Entertainment. It's got everything a good horror film should have and doesn't lean too heavily on the standard tropes of jump scares or manic editing to mask the bad f/x. This one is a keeper, and you'll get far more enjoyment out of taking home the Blu-ray than you will through streaming. Sometimes streaming is enough. This is not one of those times.