“Although this feels less like a reunion and more like a reboot.”

I can echo that sentiment, as this continuation movie for the popular SyFy series, which concluded in 2021, has the distinct feeling of a long episode. I’m not complaining, because it means that all the elements that made it work as a television series are now still on display in a longer format. Besides, there was a need for this movie, as the series finale really left things up in the air as to where the characters would go from here. Last we saw the gang, after saving Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkey) from reentering the garden and leading a rebellion against the Black Badge Division, Waverly and Nicole (Katherine Barrell) tied the knot while Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) had to make a decision about her future vis-a-vis whether to remain in Purgatory or leave town with Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon), ultimately choosing the latter. While this provided are our foul-mouthed yet endearing heroine with the prospect of a bright future, it left things rather ambiguous as to what that future ultimately looked like.

"When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no ... But there comes a time when its people no longer believe in it."

We all have dreams. There are achievements that some people spend a lifetime to attain. Sometimes we realize our dreams, and it can make for one of the happiest moments in our lives. Other times we find our dreams weren't all we thought they would be. Often there are dreams we simply never attain. I know what it's like to spend the better part of your life chasing something. it's often magical, and the journey is the greatest reward of all. But sometimes our dreams turn into nightmares. For Francis Ford Coppola, he has apparently been obsessed with the dream that is Megalopolis for over 40 years. That dream is about to become a nightmare. What is perhaps worse is that he was compelled to share his dream with the world. Now we all can have the same nightmare. I lucid dream, so I am literally incapable of having a nightmare. But the nearly three hours I spent watching Megalopolis must come about as close as I'm going to get. I guess in a way I should thank the man. Maybe it's not too late to change the film's title to Welcome To My Nightmare ... oh, wait. Alice Cooper already did that. Too bad.

“There are two kinds of people in this world, Jack. Runners or gunners, which one are you?”

I have to be honest; when I first saw the preview for this movie and saw Stephen Amell in that crazy wig, I expected this movie to be a car wreck. However, like all car wrecks, you can’t look away, so I accepted the fact that I would have to watch Calamity Jane, just to see how much of a car wreck it would be. Funny enough, it was not one at all. I mean, I’m still not over that crazy wig, and there were a few periods of inactivity that could have been skipped, but despite that, Calamity Jane actually turned to be an enjoyable movie experience. As expected, the major thing that it has going for it is the main reason that drew me to it: the opportunity for an Arrow reunion courtesy of Emily Bett Rickards and Stephen Amell. Throwing Wynonna Earp’s Tim Rozon into the mix was just a bonus (speaking of Wynonna Earp, be sure to also check out our review for the continuation movie).

This movie has been the talk of Prime Video, and I just had to see what the fuss was about. I’m no stranger to a Tyler Perry movie, but I can safely say that this movie has moved to the front as one of my favorites. Starring Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black does not shy away from the ugliness of toxic love. Good plays Ava, a good-natured and faithful woman, while Hardrict plays Dallas, her egotistical and entitled husband. Ava has dedicated her life to trying to be a good wife and please her husband, going so far as to diminish herself. Meanwhile, Dallas does everything in his power to keep Ava down and unaware of her worth. Things come to a head when Dallas leaves Ava heartbroken as he abandons their marriage. I wasn’t expecting to get sucked into the movie the way I did, but it definitely had me leaning in as Good’s character works to rebuild and take back her life in the face of a husband who only seeks to keep her under his thumb.

As I said, I’m no stranger to a Tyler Perry film, so I am very familiar with the formula for his films: a wronged lead character usually with low esteem plus an egotistical and entitled antagonist usually of the husband variety equals a betrayal of some kind, whether it be infidelity or in this case divorce. That is usually the formula, or some variation of that. However, I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest that the formula has become stagnant or outdated. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that everyone either knows someone experiencing this exact circumstance or has experienced it themselves. So, bearing that in mind, I’d say that this film is very much life imitating art, and given what I know of Mr. Perry’s background, he is merely holding up the mirror to the dangers of toxic love and the risks of not knowing your worth.

“You’re taking notes on a criminal conspiracy?”

I think a better name for this movie would have been The Amateurs, because it is very much amateur hour in this heist comedy, but in a good way. Well, it would seem that AppleTV is treating us to two Oceans’ movie reunions this year. Later this year, George Clooney and Brad Pitt will reunite for action comedy about professional fixers forced to work together on a job despite their preference to operate as lone wolves, hence the film’s name Wolves. And now Matt Damon and Casey Affleck reunite in The Instigators, a heist comedy about two robbers who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a theft doesn't go as planned. Interestingly, this film also marks the tenth collaboration between Affleck and Damon, as well as Damon reuniting with director Doug Liman after 22 years (since The Bourne Identity) and Damon reunion with Hong Chau, who he worked with in Downsizing. Lots of reunions are going on in this film.

There are certain filmmakers who are working today that when I hear about them working on a film I can’t help but get excited. Guys like Quentin Tarantino and Ridley Scott are a bit obvious, but for good reason. With the new wave of filmmakers a couple who come to mind are the Safdie brothers (Good Times and Uncut Gems), S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, and Brawl in Cell Block 99), Gareth Evans (The Raid films), and then there is Jeremy Saulnier, who has previously knocked my knickers off with Blue Ruin and Green Room. Saulnier is one of those rare talents who knows how to capture the darkness in his characters and takes them to edge and puts them through some pretty hellish kinds of situations, but he manages to keep it all in the realm of reality where we as a viewer can feel everything we are watching could really happen. The way he depicts violence in his films is one aspect that makes it feel so real. He’s unflinching with bones breaking, stab wounds, or shootouts. This rawness he gives his films, and then there is the grittiness to the way he shoots his films. It can be a beautiful backdrop even inside a dying small town, but he’s able to slip in the grime of the characters or create an atmosphere where it feels as though violence can erupt at any moment. So when I first heard about Rebel Ridge, you bet I was excited, though I’ll admit I was disappointed it wasn’t getting a theatrical release and instead it was going straight to Netflix. Was it worth the wait?

I should also mention that the wait for this film was a long one. It was expected to start production in 2020, but because of COVID restrictions it got delayed to 2021. When I originally heard about the film it was going to have John Boyega in the lead role. Now I’ve been a fan of Boyega since I saw him in Attack the Block, so this was casting I was excited about, but then suddenly the film shut down and Boyega had left the film. Normally this kind of thing would kill a film production, but as it would turn out I feel it was a blessing in disguise, because the replacement was a relatively unknown, Aaron Pierre, to play the lead.  Aaron Pierre is what makes this film, and if he doesn’t become a star after this, that is a damn shame.

Every year there are a few gems that come along that surprise me. Last year, for instance, Perfect Days and Past Lives were a couple of my favorite films from last year. Now we still haven’t even entered award season, and there have been a few films I feel have been pretty great. Furiosa is one, and then there is Love Lies Bleeding, the violent sexual thriller from A24 I just didn’t see coming. I’ve heard some buzz on this one, but to be honest, having Kristen Stewart in it kind of turned me off. Sure, I liked her as the kid in Panic Room, but since then aside from Adventureland and American Ultra I just haven’t been that impressed. But with awards season coming up, I felt I needed to give this film a shot. Worst case scenario it’s at least less than two hours, so no big loss … Now that I’ve seen it, man, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to see this. Love Lies Bleeding is this unexpected gift that as it continues to play it takes you on this unexpected journey through love and extreme violence that kind of feels like what would happen if the Coen brothers had a cinematic love child with David Cronenberg. Yes, it is that cool, queer, and weird all at once.

It is 1989, and Lou (Kristen Stewart) runs a gym in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. Lou’s introduction isn’t a pretty one. It has her with her hand stuck in a toilet as she’s trying to unclog it. By the end of the film you’ll realize just how much of a visual metaphor this really is for the character, because throughout the film she is the one stuck trying to clean up everyone’s mess. Whether it is an abusive relationship, a girlfriend’s instability, or her father’s life of crime, Lou gets involved, and things just get really messy.