" Well, you can forget what you've learned at training college. Because at the end of the day, there's just one thing that matters in this job - a copper's gut." 

Wallace and Gromit is the brainchild of animator Nick Park. The British filmmaker tried for years to bring his clay creations alive, but on his own finished a mere 10 minutes in a little over 2 years. When he met up with Aardman Animations, he was teamed up with the creative talents he needed to make his dream come alive, and come alive these two characters did indeed. They’ve become an overnight sensation in the UK and now all over the world. I was introduced to the characters with the full length feature Wallace And Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. I have to admit that I was completely won over by the magic of this creation. It’s so simple looking that it almost appears to be child’s play. The truth could not be further from the perception. Stop motion animation goes back to the beginning of the cinema itself. Pioneered by the genius Willis O’Brian and perfected by Ray Harryhausen, it is one of the most painstakingly tedious tasks in the film industry today. It has been all but abandoned except for a select few who still follow in the footsteps of greatness. Give Nick Park credit for keeping the art alive and making it look effortless.

Not sure if this has ever happened to me before: to like the movie adaptation as much as I like the book itself. Naturally much of this feeling is due to the inclusion of Peter Dinklage into the cast of this film, but that said, I found The Thicket to be among my favorite movie adaptations of this year, which is interesting given the amount of creative license taken with the material. Based on the Joe R. Lansdale western novel of the same name,the film follows Jack Parker, a boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill, enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones, who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl. Joining Dinklage is Juliette Lewis as Cut Throat Bill, Hanna’s Esmé Creed-Miles as Lula Parker, Jack's sister, and The Old Man’s Gbenga Akinnagbe as Eustace Howard, an ex-slave who assists Jack.

I should preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of Joe R. Landsdale and an avid reader of his novels, especially his long-running Hap and Leonard series, which I’ve read at least a dozen times. I say that to say that Lansdale falls into the same category as Elmore Leonard for me; if they are making an adaptation of his work, better believe I will be among the first to watch it. The Thicket is no exception; as soon as I learned about it, I anxiously awaited its release. And now having seen it, I can say I was not disappointed. As I previously mentioned, a lot of my admiration for the film comes from Peter Dinklage’s portrayal of Reginal Johnson, more aptly known as Shorty, a dwarf bounty hunter. Much like his character in Game of Thrones, Dinklage’s character is among the smartest in the room. However, unlike in Game of Thrones, this character is not afraid to get his hands dirty, which is shown from the character’s first scene when he is forced to teach an indignant and entitled city official a lesson when dares to take issue with his size. This film was reportedly a longtime passion project for Dinklage, and it shows in his portrayal as the character of Shorty who, at least for me, practically leapt off the page and became fully formed.

“Killing is bad. Like, unacceptably bad.”

I had such high hopes for this romantic comedy. I didn’t expect that it would raise the level of the genre, but I figured that it would be some lighthearted fun like in The Ugly Truth or Sex Tape. The unfortunate part is that I feel like it had that potential; it just required better story development. A shame; this really could have been a win for Kaley Cuoco. Not that she needs one; of the big three of The Big Bang Theory, I’d say she’s the one with the fullest dance card. It’s like she hasn’t taken a breath since the series ended. But then again one could argue that she’s always been on the go since her days on 8 Simple Rules. Even so, I really wanted to like this film, and while it had a couple of good moments, the lackluster story development really diminished any traction that the film gained.

“This is a game about winning the points that matter. You beating me is a nice story for you to tell people when you're giving them tennis lessons, but I guarantee you the thing they'll all be the most excited about is that you met me at all. They'll ask you what I'm like. They'll ask you if I'm nice. They'll ask you if we were friends. And then they'll ask you how I did it. They'll ask you and you won’t have no $#*%ing clue what to tell them. And even if you did want to know, I couldn't possibly explain it to you in a language you'll understand, because the thing you learn when you've been operating at my level for as long as I have is that it's so $#*%ing lonely to win this much. Nobody gets it. But everyone on Earth gets what it's like to be you.”

So the truth about this film when I learned about it was I knew it was destined to be a movie that my wife would drag me to the theater to see. I’ve never been one for tennis, and while I have a rudimentary understanding of the game’s rules and how it is played, it falls into the same category as golf; it’s just not that exciting a sport for me. That said, I’m pretty sure that I ended up more hooked by this movie than my wife. Zendaya as a maneater?  I mean, who wouldn’t be seduced by the idea of her taking on a role like that? I’ve watched Zendaya since her time on the Disney Channel, and I never cease to be amazed by the transformation that she undertakes with every role. This is a woman who not only redefined the role of MJ in the Spider-Man films, but did that while also more than convincingly passing as a drug addict on Euphoria. Quite frankly, I highly doubt there is anything that she couldn’t convincingly do.

For just about the past decade I feel Samara Weaving has earned the title of scream queen in the horror genre. She may not be a box office name like Jenna Ortega, but I feel Samara Weaving has a more impressive resume of cool and fun horror films, and she just consistently delivers. Ready or Not in a lot of ways is the film that best showcases her talents, and I thought for sure she’d level up to A-list status, but it seems the movie gods have other plans for her. Thankfully she is still cranking out some fun films for genre fans. Azrael is Weaving’s newest dip into the horror genre, a film that was written by Simon Barrett, who previously wrote the horror gems You’re Next and The Guest, and to sweeten this ghoulish cinematic pot, it is directed by E.L. Katz, who directed the 2013 dark comedy Cheap Thrills. Does this all add up to another genre hit, or is this a dud?

The film takes place several years after the rapture, and with most of the world’s population decimated, the few who remain no longer speak. When the film opens up, we see Azrael (Samara Weaving) and a male companion in the forest just enjoying their life until it is interrupted by a group of marauders who capture Weaving. Azrael is then restrained at a shrine in the woods and is left as a sacrifice to these charred undead creatures, but Azrael manages to escape, and what follows is a long cat-and-mouse game through the forest as she tries to elude the creatures and the marauders who initially captured her.

"The staff of wisdom given to me by Master Oogway himself. It is said that whoever possesses this staff has the power to travel between the realms. The power to unlock the door to the spirit realm. And now the power to open the all new Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu, where the broth has kick and the bean curd's a knock-out."

It's hard to maintain the attention of the 21^st-century child. Animated movies have to combine enough elements of charm and action to keep their attention for a little under two hours. If you want to keep a franchise going, you have to rip out your sequels on reasonably tight schedules. It was over four years between Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3, and we waited nearly that long between the first and second entry. That's a long time in a culture where we move from fad to fad almost by the hour. But if the films are good enough and leave enough of an impact, you might be able to bridge those years successfully. In three to four years you're almost targeting a new generation of your target audience. This time we didn't wait four years. This time it was eight before we finally got to see Jack Black's Kung Fu Panda 4. Did they make us wait too long? Was the connection still there? If you look at the box office numbers, each film has declined except for this one. But adjusted for inflation, it comes in last in the franchise. You can't put eight years into a franchise gap, particularly one intended for children. They outgrew you, my friend, and you have to work four times as hard to bring them back.

“If I could stay funny, I can stay alive!”

That was the mantra that kept Jamie Foxx alive, which he explains in this testimonial stand-up special about the events that nearly cost him his life back in 2023. We all heard the rumors about what happened. Renowned triple threat Jamie Foxx suffered a serious medical event resulting in him becoming hospitalized. Amid conflicting reports about the nature of his condition, including rumors that he was gravely ill, his condition for the most part remained a mystery and a closely guarded secret within his family. Then the rumor mill started to include tales that the actor had died, and the family was keeping it secret. And as if that was not outlandish enough, following the actor posing a video clip in which he commented about his health, saying that he had been to "hell and back,” then the rumors started that the actor had been cloned, this coming after the release of the film They Cloned Tyrone, in which the Jamie Foxx is featured. The irony of such an idea was not lost on the actor. Now hear it from the man himself in a one-of-a-kind of comedy special that only he could have made. Now I will warn, Jamie will take you on an emotional rollercoaster as he lays out the life-threatening medical emergency and his long journey back to the stage.

There is something about how the French make their horror films that I find a bit hard to resist. Films like High Tension, Inside, and Martyrs are films I go back to time and time again and just have a blast with, and with the release of MadS I was a bit optimistic that this could also be a film to add to my rotation when I’m on a French horror film kick. What really gave me hope for this film is seeing that it was directed by David Moreau, who gave us the criminally underappreciated home invasion horror film Them (2006). If you are a fan of home invasion horror and you’ve missed on Them, I highly recommend checking it out. As for MadS, it seems Moreau was going for something a bit different, this time doing a one-shot horror film about a virus outbreak that causes those infected to go “mad” and violently attack people. Sure, we’ve seen it before, but is the one-shot approach a fresh enough take to make this an experience worth sitting through?

Romain (Milton Riche) is a teenager who is celebrating his birthday and before heading to a party meets up with his drug dealer and partakes in a questionable substance. Everything seems fine till on his way home he comes across a woman who appears to be in distress, and things quickly spiral out of control from here when she savagely stabs herself. High out of his mind and with a presumed dead woman in his car, he continues to go home and leaves the girl with his car in the garage. Now early on with this film I felt maybe this is all some kind of bad hallucination this guy is on, and perhaps that is all this film is meant to be, but the film does shift gears by following other characters till it reaches its bleak conclusion.

“Project Shadow is far beyond anything we've encountered. Shadow's story began a lot like yours, Sonic. But where you found family and friends, Shadow only found pain and loss.”

I’ve been patiently awaiting this installment since the 2022 mid-credit scene hinted at the idea of Shadow’s introduction into the franchise. Now here we are with that idea becoming a reality, and with Keanu Reeves voicing the character, no less. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes the series in a darker direction than the previous installments as the happy-go-lucky Sonic finds his worldview challenged by the reveal of another hedgehog that received a much worse reception than he did. In that regard, I appreciated the director staying true to form with Shadow’s backstory. Shadow’s story is intended to be tragic and explain his worldview, which is intended to be the polar opposite of Sonic’s worldview. The characters are intended to be two sides of the same coin, and the film excellently delivers on that.

"Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on."

As awards season has come around this year, I found myself watching several films involving the Catholic Church, from Russell Crowe's The Exorcism to Sydney Sweeney's Immaculate, and finally Cabrini. And now Conclave. I was surprised to find that all four films were relatively respectful, even as they might be pointing out the flaws of the ancient church. All four films were replete with wonderful performances that carried the emotional beats of the stories. At the top of my list from those films is Cabrini, with Conclave coming in a close second. Both received attention in my end-of-year voting opportunities. I've already told you about The Exorcism and Cabrini. Brent Lorenson gave us his view of Immaculate, and now I'll finish off the Holy Four with my take on Conclave.