Easily in my top 50 films of all time, 1985's SILVERADO  is a modern American western classic for movie lovers of all genres. Writer/Director Lawrence Kadsan (Body Heat, The Big Chill) spins a fantastic, fast-moving story, taking the standard "good guy v. bad guy in the west" tale and loading it with great characters, humor and emotion. Kevin Kline is Paden, a former gunfighter looking to settle down when he meets Emmitt, played to perfection by 80's star Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff, Backdraft). Emmitt is looking for his younger brother Jake, played by Kevin Costner in one of his first film roles. When Mal (Danny Glover) crosses their path, the four become a united group of good men headed toward the promise of a town called Silverado. There are no stereotypical characters here. Archetypes yes, but everyone is fleshed out by great writing and superb acting. John Cleese has some of the all-time best lines as a by-the-book Sheriff in a small town where Jake's due to hang. Jeff Goldblum is a quirky (who knew?) card-shark who moves allegiances as fast as he deals from the bottom of the deck. Brian Dennehy (First Blood, Cocoon) damn near steals the movie as Cobb, the Sheriff/Saloon Owner in Silverado, who boldly crosses the line from white hat to black hat daily. Linda Hunt is great as Stella the Saloon Owner, who makes up in guts & heart what she lacks in height. Beautifully shot in New Mexico, it also features one of the best Western film scores of all time by Bruce Boughton (Tombstone). From the film's opening three minutes with Glenn battling murderers in a tiny shack that beautifully morphs into the rousing title credits, SILVERADO is a thrill ride disguised as a traditional western. The final showdown in Silverado is about as good as it gets, even if you aren't partial to the genre. Kasdan wrote "Raiders of the Lost Ark", so it's no surprise that he can pen a great adventure, but this one blew me away in 1985 and plays just as well today. I'm not sure how he straddles the line between traditional and fresh so perfectly but he does. Watching our four heroes ride into Silverado for the final battle with Broughton's score belting in the background is something you've seen 100 times, but NEVER executed this perfectly. When Kasdan was writing the film, he said "Any story you want to tell, you can tell in a Western. It's just a very flexible, open canvas." Damned if Kasdan didn't paint a masterpiece. SILVERADO  gets an A+ and an often revisited spot in my all-time Top 100.

Have you ever felt TOO close to someone? Body horror, big laughs and mystery combine with gross fascination in TOGETHER . We meet Tim and Millie at a turning point in their long relationship. After years in the city, Millie (Alison Brie) is excited about their move to the isolated countryside. She confides in friends that it's going to be great for her and Tim (Dave Franco of "Neighbors" and "Now You See Me") to reconnect and rekindle their stale relationship. After one of the most awkward proposals in screen history, the couple move to a home in the middle of the woods. Millie has accepted a teaching job, where the other faculty ponders why she would accept a role she's obviously far too qualified for. While Millie navigates the school staff, Tim stays at home, missing his wannabe rock band buddies and spiraling into visions of the gruesome death and existence of his parents. It would be easy to say that a struggling couple, a house in the wooded country and depression driven visions sound pretty routine for this type of film. Fair statement, but not in the hands of Writer/Director Michael Shanks. I haven't seen any of his other work, but here, he conjures up some very dark parts of the room, fills them with horrific memories and some clever jump scares I never saw coming. Hiding under the sheets from specters is ineffective in Shank's domain. The couple decide to take a hike behind their property, literally falling into the remnants of something bizarre that I'll leave for you to discover. Suddenly, their bodies seem to be pulling together like the world's strongest magnets. The film has a blast with this in a much more violent and funny spin on the TV series "Ghosts". If you're a fan of that show, you know it's not easy for them to leave the property. When Millie decides to take a ride into town, Tim's shower becomes a wicked roller coaster. Fans of John Carpenter's "The Thing" (yes please) will find some nostalgia discovering the fate of a couple of dogs that stumble onto the same territory as Tim and Millie. Damon Herriman is great as Jamie, a fellow teacher and neighbor of the couple. It's hard to believe this is the same actor who played Charles Manson in both "Mindhunter" and QT's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"!! Talk about range. I loved the way that Tim's decision to play a gig back in the city turns into a wild series of Rube Goldberg happenings that interlock into an absolutely mad finale. When that magnetic connection between the couple reaches a fever pitch, the gruesome body horror spews forth. Shanks keeps such a dark sense of humor playing full volume in these scenes that I never looked away, I was laughing too hard at his all too realistic dialogue. Brie and Franco are a real life married couple since 2017 and that connection adds palpable depth to their performances, bouncing off each other literally and figuratively. The music score by Cornel Wilczek (Bring Her Back, Talk To Me) is a subversive, sonic onslaught that lulls you into the horror and then punches you in the bloody face. Filmed in just 21 days, there's a sense of urgency and pull that's palpable from the film's creepy opening, all the way through the final payoff shot. On that payoff, all I could think was "her parents are coming for lunch!" Indeed they are. The most twisted, gory, funny horror examination of codependency in film history, TOGETHER is mad fun and gets a very solid B.

In the recent tornado of Sydney Sweeney news, it's easy to lose track of what a strong actress she is. She's superb and unrecognizable in Ron Howard's new drama, EDEN . The least Ron Howard-like film he's ever made, this is an adult, frank and challenging look at an unbelievably true story. Post WWI, a mismatched group of outsiders look to escape Europe and create a new civilization on Floreana, a desolate Galapagos island. Savaged by every season's weather and nearly inhospitable, they're led there by the news reports about Dr Ritter (Jude Law) and his longtime partner Dore (Vanessa Kirby). The Doctor has spent more than a year setting up a simple farm on the island, sending letters to newspapers in Europe via the occasional, unscheduled ship that visits the island. As the film opens, we meet Heinz (the always great Daniel Bruhl) his young bride Margret (Sweeney) and their son Harry (Jonathan Tittel). The Wittmer's are heading to the undiscovered utopia because of their son's failing health, inspired by the Doctor's tales of Dore's miraculous recovery on the island from MS. If they're expecting a warm welcome, they're in for a surprise. Ritter has no desire for any additional population on his island. What ensues is a battle of sheer will to survive. Whatever challenge that Ritter or the harsh reality of life on the island put in their way, Heinz and Margret prove capable. Director and Co-Writer Howard (Apollo 13, Cocoon, The DaVinci Code) is in no hurry to tell his story, carefully crafting each step of survival. Days become weeks, weeks become months, months turn to seasons, each with their own harsh realities. He shares screenplay credit with Noah Pink (Genius, Tetris) and together, they tell a tale that seems impossible, yet proves to be based in truth. Law is terrific, rude, naked (literally and figuratively) and holding onto grand opinions of civilization that he's constantly tapping into his typewriter and narrating for us. Kirby (Mission Impossible, Fantastic Four) is wholly different than I've seen her on screen, plain, selfish and as harsh as the island. Sweeney is inspiring as a young woman who discovers far more than her voice in Ritter's wannabe Eden. I sat through the entire film and had no idea it was Sweeney. She impressed me in 2024's "Immaculate", but surpasses that here with a performance that embraces reserve and animal ferocity in equal measure. I would not have thought she could top her childbirth scene in "Immaculate" but wow, wait until you survive THIS one! Just as you settle in to the dynamics of the two families, Ana de Armas is carried onto the beach in a chair held aloft by adoring menservants. The Cleopatra style entrance is funny and absurd. Her Baroness has as many names and titles as she does entitlements, constantly holding her hand out to be kissed. She has brought her lover/architect Rudolph (Felix Kammerer from "All Quiet On The Western Front") along, reviewing grand plans for a luxury hotel that would only cater to millionaires. Her entitlement in the early 1930's seems a century ahead but simpatico with today's boorish social media influencers. She also has her loyal Robert (Toby Wallace) with her, who's just as liable to hop into bed with her as Rudolph observes from afar. This new dynamic spins the island and the film in a different direction, upping the conflict and tension, which Howard slowly turns the screw on for the final hour. The Baroness is something. I'll say no more. I see some criticism of de Armas' performance, but by the film's end, knowing what you do then, isn't her portrayal spot on? I loved the arrival, at the start of the final act, of wealthy American land baron G. Allan Hancock, played by Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge, Van Helsing). His arrival in a giant yacht, spilling string quartets and food supplies on the beach in waves stirs the pot to a fever pitch. I LOVED as the end credits rolled, that Howard showing stills, historical updates and videos of the actual people and island portrayed within the film. It made me rethink the film, realizing that these events actually happened. Say what you want about Ritter's societal experiment, it certainly generated a fascinating petri dish of mankind. EDEN is measured, wild and methodical in it's portrayal of these people. If you're patient, it offers some pretty delicious payoffs for all involved. I love that Howard is pushing the boundaries of what we think "A Ron Howard Film" is in 2025. No one here is playing it safe, Howard included. EDEN gets a B.

Watching Denzel Washington & Spike Lee's 5th film together unfold is a moviegoing thrill. HIGHEST 2 LOWEST is a challenging, twisting film that pulls you in unexpected directions. The language that these two talented men collaboratively create absolutely SINGS here, quietly at first and then soaring to a perfect finale. Lee has been exceeding expectations for nearly a decade. His last two films have both been jaw dropping for me. 2017's "BlacKkKlansman" and 2020's "Da 5 Bloods" revealed a re-energized Lee, using his talents to paint in very different genres including crime thrillers and a multi generational look at the Vietnam War and its five decade impact, in the form of an action flick. He's pushing new boundaries here, while deftly examining his own relevance in today's influencer/TikTok driven world of fame (infamy?). Washington stars as Music Industry mogul David King, living a life that most could only dream of. Director of Photography Matthew Libatique (Black Swan, A Star is Born) swoops drone cameras around King's penthouse as the film opens, capturing a view of the Manhattan skyline that stuns as "Oh What A Beautiful Morning!" soars in your ears. It's a loving visual and aural introduction to King's world that drips success, beauty and luxury at the highest level. Washington portrays David as a man still thrilled by a business deal, the excitement palpable as he works on a life-changing new buyout. He connects briefly with his stunning wife, Pam (Ilfenesh Hadera from "Blue Bloods") asking her to pause the check she's about to write to a non-profit artist group. The deal he's working on will wrap up all their finances short term. We watch as King takes his son Trey (Aubrey Joseph) to a basketball camp at the university, where Trey meets up with best friend Kyle (Elijah Wright). Kyle is the son of longtime David confidant and driver Paul Christopher. Jeffrey Wright is fantastic as Paul, a former convict who shares a past with David that has somehow inspired deep, unquestioned loyalty. Paul seems to be one of the few people outside of David's marriage that can tell him their unvarnished opinion without fear. The first half hour of the film glides by at a leisurely pace, gently slipping us into KIng's everyday life at home and at work. I began to wonder if Lee was creating a family drama. Just when I started getting comfortable in that groove, Lee drops a blistering crime thriller onto the screen. Trey is kidnapped and the bag guys want $17 million dollars in Swiss Francs, which thanks to this film, I now know weigh a hell of a lot less than greenbacks. The New York City police department and detectives descend on King's penthouse. Broadway veteran LaChanze is excellent as Detective Bell as is John Douglas Thompson (21 Bridges) as her counterpart, Detective Bridges. Rounding out the squad is Dean Winters (Rescue Me and "Mayhem" in those insurance commercials) as Detective Higgins, who has the most interesting story arc of the three. (Insurance commercial references provide some big laughs!) When another twist turns the kidnapping on its head, Lee ratchets up the pace, turning Denzel into a reluctant action hero delivering the ransom money. The entire sequence is a Lee classic, stealing the multiple phone calls and directions that the Zodiac Killer sent Dirty Harry on in the original Eastwood film, into a celebration of the vastly different boroughs and cultures across Manhattan. Like Ryan Coogler's brilliant sequence in "Sinners" in which music from across centuries all meld together in a seductive saloon siren song to the vampires, Lee weaves the long foot, car and motorcycle chase through the subway and neighborhoods of New York City that he has, for so long, celebrated. But the true tension in Lee's crime thriller isn't from the well shot and exciting chases. It's in watching Washington as King, wrestling with his legacy at work and at home. With finances suddenly pulled in multiple directions, what is the right choice? What will people think? It's fascinating watching KIng struggle with the immediacy of social media. His empire was built in an older, slower world. He appreciated loyalty, but it's tested. King realizes that empire was built in a very different time. Is he still relevant? Does anything he's done in the past really matter to the latest generation? You can feel Spike Lee asking many of those same questions in the film, about his own work. From my viewpoint, this film completes three films that serve as some of the strongest work of Lee's career. Watching Denzel and Spike play and riff in their 5th Joint is perfection. A$AP Rocky is excellent as young rapper Yung Felon. He exists in a world a few miles from King's penthouse but so far away it could be on another planet. Watching those worlds collide is unpredictable, suspenseful and as thrilling as any film Lee's ever created. Pairing up Washington and Wright (American Fiction, The Batman) creates fireworks of relentless dialogue, real, passionate and life changing for both of them. Watching two of our best American actors under Lee's direction is a masterclass. Just nominate them both for this film and get it over with. Superb. The last thirty minutes is a tension filled character study with explosive violence and quiet, one-on-one scenes with Washington delivering many words at once as only he can, serving up an explosive statement on life and the choices we all make. David King learns a lot about himself in these 24 hours. It's a cinematic thrill to be along for the ride. HIGHEST 2 LOWEST ends with a pitch perfect final scene that could fit just as easily in a musical as it does here. Since David King's world is the music business, it's an easy fit. Lee hits every note on the way to an A+, creating an operatic thriller/character study that Washington throws on his Armani suited back and carries off into a stunning NYC skyline.

Before catching the current "re-imagining", I wanted to revisit the original 1989 dark comedy, THE WAR OF THE ROSES . I remember enjoying it a lot in theaters opening weekend and observing as the Christmas audiences pushed back against it's jet black ending and final act. I loved it. Still do. But the path to get there is a lot more entertaining and hilarious then I remembered. Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito were all blazing hot off their major box office success with "Romancing the Stone" and its sequel, "Jewel of the Nile". For something completely different, they tacked this intelligent, challenging blend of farce and screwball comedy. Loaded with long monologues and truly despicable behavior from its stars, it's a long way from the summer popcorn of the Joan Wilder adventures. Danny DeVito plays Gavin, the attorney who narrates the film, telling the story of Oliver and Barbara Rose to a silent man in a chair, who just happens to be played by Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson. Gavin is Oliver's best friend, showing us in flashbacks how Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara (Kathleen Turner) met in the waning days of summer in Nantucket. They admire each other from across a room and fall quickly into bed and in love. Oliver is a focused, driven law student with aspirations to make partner. Barbara focuses 24/7 on building him the perfect home and the perfect family. The blend of those two paths creates a hell of a lot of uncomfortable laughs. With James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Spanglish) producing and a team of pros in front of and behind the camera, it's a master class in black comedy, which I've always loved. The laughs head to the next level as the film flashes forward and Barbara has finished their perfect mansion, stocked to the corners with the perfect knickknacks, sculptures and china from around the globe. Oliver decides to host the partners of his law firm at their home. The dinner is a flawless sequence in writing, acting and editing, through the scene in bed later that evening. I laughed out loud multiple times in the scene, but never harder than when Barbara verbally escalates their argument by going hilariously profane. What I didn't expect the first viewing was for Oliver to give into the humor of the moment as well, showing a spirit of reconciliation that will soon disappear completely. Barbara decides to start her own business, Oliver focuses more and more on his work and the two eventually head toward a divorce. But not just any divorce. This is the ugliest, most violent and heinous divorce in the history of split ups. Michael Douglas has a field day playing against his usual likable hero, turning Oliver into a man who refuses to lose at any cost. When you're pissing into a cauldron of soup at a dinner party, you've pulled out all the stops. Turner matches him stride for stride. Her Barbara knows no boundaries. Hilariously so. The dinner party she throws for her clients goes spectacularly wrong. Oliver and Barbara devolve into two animals on a campaign of destruction with one focus: to get the other one to move out. Studio execs begged DeVito to shoot a happy ending, which, of course, would have completely destroyed the tone and delivery of everything that came before it. They wanted that ending for foreign markets, which at the time, showed poor box office results for films with downbeat endings. He was also forced to move the last shot of the dog to immediately after the pate scene. It originally sat after the end credits, which would have been even funnier and not served as a cop out to the cracker and pate scene. The supporting cast is excellent, including a young Sean Astin (Rudy, Lord of the Rings) as the Rose's son, and legendary character actor G.D. Spradlin (The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now) as Barbara's divorce lawyer. Sharp eyed viewers will know that this is the second time in film history that Douglas has sawed the heels off of Turner's shoes! Funny, smart, and comedy of the jet black variety, THE WAR OF THE ROSES is just as enjoyable as it was when it first hit theaters. It gets an admiring A from me and recognition as one of AFI's nominees for the best 100 American Comedies of All-Time. "When I watch you eat. When I see you asleep. When I look at you lately, I just want to smash your face in...."

THE CONJURING: LAST RITES takes the film series out in style, scaring up plenty of tension, some killer jump scares and plenty of audio terrors thanks to a classic horror score by Benjamin Wallfisch. Knowing that we're here for an appropriate sendoff for The Warrens, the film makers have created a solid emotional base for the film, which pays off several times. The film opens with Ed and Lorraine Warren, on one of their first paranormal cases, facing off against a powerful demon. It's a great opening scene that lands Lorraine in the emergency maternity ward, delivering her daughter as a very creepy entity advances. Wallfisch has created terrific scores for some of my favorite films of the past year, including "Twisters" and "Alien: Romulus". He delivers some terrifying goods here, including a main title theme over scrolling credits that gave me more creeps than any title music since Friedkin's mad scherzos over "The Exorcist" blood red titles. The man knows how to set a mood, and he keeps you on edge. The film moves forward to 1986. Ed (the ever likable Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga, terrific in the role as always) have stopped confronting evil, mostly due to Ed's second heart attack in the third, and for me worst, Conjuring film, "The Devil Made Me Do It". They're now on a sparsely attended lecture tour that seems to be mostly populated by college students wanting to meet Bill Murray and the Ghostbusters. Their now grown daughter, Judy (Mia Tomlinson) encourages them along the way, but Ed is ready to get back to battling entities. Meanwhile, we meet a multi-generational, blue collar family, The Smurls. In a real life haunted house story that dominated headlines in '86, the real Smurl family was all over network news, sharing stories about the horrors they faced in their Pennsylvania home. The film has a great time doing a slow reveal on the terrors within, released when Grandma and Grandpa Smurl choose perhaps the weirdest confirmation gift of all time for one of the teenage girls living in the tiny house. It's a giant standing mirror that looks like something Tim Burton would design for Vincent Price's birthday. The three cherub heads on the top of the mirror reminded me of the bedframe in "The Haunting". Damn spooky. I've been wanting to see a film about a haunted house that gave me the same big=screen thrills that I remember when I saw the original "Poltergeist"opening weekend. The film that got the closest for me since, was the best film in this series, "The Conjuring 2", but this entry gets pretty damn close in several sequences. That mirror turns out to be pretty hard to get rid of easily. The film pops back and forth between the horrors of the Smurl home and the everyday life of the Warrens. Judy's boyfriend, a former cop named Tony (Ben Hardy from "Bohemian Rhapsody") is ready to pop the question. But Judy, who shares Lorraine's psychic gift is staring to have stronger and stronger visions. Many of them terrifying. Where are they coming from? The Conjuring films have always thrilled with great set pieces, sequences that standout with suspense, ever increasing tension and some of the best jump cut scares in the business. There are several doozies in the Smurl house and seeing them in Dolby Cinema, the sound, bass and screams punched me all in the chest at the same moment as some new horror suddenly filled the screen. Holy crap two of them are all time classics. Note to the Dad in the Smurl family, Jack (Elliot Cowan): if your bedroom door slowly creaks open in the middle of the night and it feels like someone as entered the room.....YIKES. GREAT jump scare, followed by some kick ass levitations and Wallfisch's score swirling deep inside your head. We all know, from the trailers and common sense, that the Warrens are going to end up at the Smurl home in what was their final supernatural case. What happened in that house ended their careers? It's a hell of a finale, nearly thirty minutes of non-stop "Exorcist"/"The Omen"/"Poltergeist" feels that are definitively, after four films, territory that The Conjuring Universe can call its own. Farmiga and Wilson are terrific, throwing themselves into their roles for one last hurrah with intensity. Wilson's style is so likable and so damn funny that he earns some big laughs that release the tension. Rebecca Calder (Wrath of Man) is excellent as Mrs. Smurl, the first to witness the evil in her home. Her trip to the basement to do laundry early in the film is every reason I hate basements. Kudos to the lighting and production design team for creating corners that seem to hold every childhood nightmare just beyond your field of vision. Her scenes in the kitchen are the greatest promotion every for cordless phones. Steve Coulter also makes a welcome return as Father Gordon, whose loyalty to The Warrens in battling demons may have finally caught up with him. The lure of the Conjuring series is that Ed and Lorraine were actual paranormal fighters, well documented and respected in their circle. Warner Bros delights in plastering "Based on a True Story" on these tales and who can blame them. It ups the fun and laughter amongst the screams if just a little bit of us thinks deep down that some of this crazy shit actually happened! As Conjuring films go, LAST RITES is a lot of fun, clocking in right behind the original for me in chills & thrills. The difference this time out, is that the longer running time allows the story to dive deeper into the Warrens and root their battles in emotion. It makes their battles with the devil more palpable when the crazy final act kicks in. With over $65 million at the box office it's opening weekend, my bet is that this enjoyable tale has already set up the road ahead for Ed and Lorraine's successors. Count me in. THE CONJURING: LAST RITES is far better than the last chapter, scaring up a very solid B and fond, appreciative farewell to the original cast.

You either get the Sandman or you don't. For me, HAPPY GILMORE 2 is a hilarious, 500 yard drive right down the center of the fairway, loaded with laughs, great physical comedy and plenty of nostalgia for fans of the OG. It's been almost three decades since the original film hit theaters, on its way to becoming a comedy classic, Bob Barker fist fights included. Adam Sandler has become a much better actor in the past thirty years, delivering powerful, dramatic performances in films like Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch Drunk Love" and the Safdie's "Uncut Gems". His dramatic chops give his comedic side a stronger base, even in wild, goofy comedies like this one. It's been a long time since we saw Happy win a major. The opening sequence offers up a hilarious update on Happy's fall from Grace. A rite of passage for every movie sports hero, we watch his decline and after a tragic driving (gold ball not car) accident changes his life, Happy swears to never pick up a driver again. The opening twenty minutes carves out Happy's new life, with John Daly living in Happy's garage and both of them concealing liquor in every possible way you can think of, and then some. When Happy's daughter Vienna (real life daughter Sunny) has the chance to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris, he realizes he better find a way back to the golf course. What follows is an onslaught of golf and family hijinks that made us laugh a LOT. Happy decides to try a round of golf at a local course and the threesome he's paired with (Eric Andre and Margaret Qualley showing off comic chops) prove to be in for a dangerous time. The final golf cart crash of the sequence is comic perfection. A star studded golf gallery pops up through the entire film. Steve Buscemi, Kevin Nealon, Post Malone, Eminem and Nick Swardson deliver guffaws. Jon Lovitz is hilarious and Julie Bowen keeps popping up in the Talia Shire inspirational role to Happy's Rocky Balboa. You can't have a sequel without Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald). Only a Sandler comedy could have a story arc this insane for the egotistical golfer, who's constantly telling everyone he was the greatest golfer of the 90's. Sandler is always there to mutter "...well yeah, except for me and Tiger". Benny Safdie shows up with the mad plot device that drives the last half of the film, challenging the PGA tour to a face off against his new golf league that looks like a cross between "WipeOut" and the LIV tour. Every major PGA star turns up and they're clearly having a great time being part of Sandler's world. Bubba Watson, Scottie Scheffler, Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy, Fred Couples all show off their comedy skills, with Scheffler getting the biggest laughs. If you've ever watched Sandler's behind the scenes clips, it's clear that he and his production team have a lot of fun making these films and it pops off the screen. The last twenty minutes is absolutely stupid and hilarious, not an easy mix. Sandler's lived-in characters have seen a lot of life, but don't be deceived. Just when you think Happy has mellowed into a softie, he pulls out that driver and delivers BIG laughs. Verne Lundquist, famed golf announcer is absolutely hilarious every time he's on screen. The guy has a comedy career when he's done on the links, as does Bad Bunny, damn funny here as Happy's new caddy who, let's just say, doesn't know much about the sport. It was interesting watching two comedic franchises come out this week, decades after their last entry. For me, HAPPY GILMORE 2 is funnier, more balanced and brings back the feel of the series in a way that "The Naked Gun" reboot didn't achieve for its legacy. If you don't like Sandler, you probably don't like "Airplane" or "Austin Powers" either, so don't bother teeing it up with Happy. But for those of us that enjoy his comedy, HAPPY GILMORE 2 delivers nostalgia and big laughs from the first tee to the clubhouse. It gets a VERY solid and very, very funny B. A massive hit on Netflix, with 47 million views its first weekend, let's hope we haven't seen the last of Happy!

When the new remake/reboot/redux of THE NAKED GUN is funny, it's very, VERY funny. Sadly, those moments are few and far between. Most of the film left me with a mild smirk on my face and the sinking feeling that 75% of the best moments were in the trailer. Let's look at what's absolutely right with the film. Liam Neeson is perfectly straight faced as Frank Drebin Jr., son of my favorite bumbling detective of all time, Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin. The original Naked Gun films are at the top of my all-time silly comedy heap, guffawing and pratfalling their way alongside the Austin Powers films to my stupid humor nirvana. No one will ever match Nielsen's perfectly dry line readings in "Airplane", "Police Squad" and the original Naked Guns. But he had much better writing in those films. The hit and miss ratio of the rapid fire laughs was much higher than it is here. Pamela Anderson is also perfectly cast as Beth Davenport, whose brother was murdered. In the long tradition of Bogart films and modern classics like "Chinatown", Beth arrives at our hero's office dressed to kill, a femme fatale clad in red who seduces Drebin at first glance. Anderson continues her big screen renaissance here, showing great timing as a comic foil. Paul Walter Houser (I, Tonya, Richard Jewell) is a lot of fun as the son of George Kennedy's character. Like Kennedy, he's the loyal partner always trying to cover for Frank. One of the best running gags in the film is Police Chief Davis (CCH Pounder) always asking everyone to be quiet because her husband is sleeping for "a big day tomorrow". This starts when Frank Jr arrives at her home to update her on a case but spirals off into rewarding territory. The entire sequence with Frank interrogating a bank robber, perfectly played by Busta Rhymes, w/Frank showing his body cam footage to a room full of cops behind the one way glass is a blast. Frank keeps asking them to fast forward, but every time it stops, it gets funnier. Like the best bits in producer Seth MacFarlane's "Family Guy", it goes on forever and delivers huge laughs. Another fun sequence is a completely out of nowhere love montage that captures the spirit of Nielsen & Presley's hilarious gags in the originals. This one involves a winter tryst at a snowy cabin that quickly devolves into a "Basic Instinct"/supernatural thriller movie with a horny snowman. It's laugh out loud funny, as is the sheer amount of coffee that the squad drinks. Caffeine is the gift that keeps on giving. Stealing directly from Austin Powers, Nielsen and Anderson also nail a scene where their silhouettes appear to be getting very freaky in the thermal imaging binoculars of bad guy Sig Gustafson, perfectly played by the reliably great Kevin Durand (The Strain, KIngdom of the Planet of the Apes). There's also some great Hollywood synergy in play, since Durand made his film debut in "The Spy Who Shagged Me"! Bad guy Richard Cane (Danny Huston) serves up a decent foil to Drebin's madness, especially during an explanation of the P.L.O.T. device driving the story. In the first two original Naked Gun films (the third was a distant third by comic standards) Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros served up a non-stop AK-47 of non-sequiturs, visual gags and wordplay that remains unmatched. While Writer/Director Akiva Schaffer clearly has an affinity for the source material, he never quite finds the rhythm of the original films. Much of the film just sort of plays out as mildly amusing, with Neeson holding your attention until the next good joke comes along. While certainly not a complete bust in the "Airplane II: The Sequel" mode, it's hard to think of this reboot as anything but the fourth best film in the series. THE NAKED GUN fires too many blanks, with 15 minutes of funny and a whole lot of meh. It gets a C. Fans of the OG Naked Gun will find some fun Easter Eggs, including that memorable Stuffed Beaver...

Having never seen the original film, I came into NOBODY 2 with little expectation, beyond an appreciation for Bob Odenkirk's solid work over the past decade. This 90-minute carnival ride (literally) of laughs, bloody violence and action over delivered for me, packing a lot of entertainment into a couple bullets short of 90 minutes. Odenkirk is perfect as Hutch, a former lethal assassin working to pay off his recently incurred "debt" to one of those highly polished, nefarious secret agencies. It's led by The Barber, well embodied by Colin Salmon, bringing all the polish he delivered as chief of staff to Brosnan's OO7 across multiple Bond films. After a particularly grueling assignment, hilariously recapped by Hutch in brutal segments, Hutch asks for some time off. He needs a family vacation to reconnect with his patient (but running thin on it) wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), son Brady (Gage Munro) and daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath). His destination of choice? A sun beaten, old water park that holds a special place in his family memories. Plummerville, Wisconsin has seen better days. And worse, its located in one of those backward, Southern towns run by a sheriff who makes Brian Dennehy in "First Blood" look like Andy Taylor. Colin Hanks (The Offer, King Kong) is a fascinating casting choice as Sheriff Abel. Sporting a lot of attitude and a really bad haircut, Hanks brings the yokel madness to life, even if he is just a bit too eager to please the crime kingpin really running the town. Colin's Dad would be a bit horrified if he was in Sheriff Woody mode. John Ortiz (World Trade Center, Silver Linings Playbook) is the local, second generation water park owner who's using that front to move a WHOLE lot of cash, drugs and nefarious goods. His father's ties to Hutch's past are a lot of fun to reveal and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) has a lot of fun returning as Hutch's Dad. Watching Hutch try to unplug and just take a vacation in a town that seems bent on pissing him off at every turn, delivers a lot of laugh out loud moments and great action scenes staged by Indonesian action-film director Timo Tjahjanto, making his American debut in relentless, bloody style. A never ending parade of beefy, stupid henchmen fall prey to underestimating Hutch, who looks like any suburban Dad but doesn't move like one. I have to dive into how many of the stunts and brutal action scenes that Odenkirk actually did himself. It looks like all of them, and that's pretty amazing. I've read that he went through months of rigorous training and Mr. Odenkirk, it's paid off! Just when you think the craziness has hit its zenith, we meet the actual crime boss behind all the nefarious activity. She's Lendina, a crazy, dancing maniac who loves to smile in your face before slitting your throat or driving a knife through your hand at the blackjack table. It's a nice little Easter Egg if you remember Ginger in "Casino"! Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct, Total Recall) goes full tilt-a-whirl as Lendina, in a performance that resides in the wasteland between brilliant and awkward. You can't deny her commitment and 90% of the time it really works. I could have done without the dancing though.... The pace of the film is breakneck, the Rat Pack songs that accompany much of the action are perfection, the slo-mo use during the mayhem is hilarious without ever slipping into John Woo overuse and bottom line: I had one hell of a great time. Odenkirk is one of the most unlikely action heroes in decades. He's such a great actor that his Hutch is never less than believable. When he's beating the crap out of a bunch of dudes half his age and shouting "I'm...on....VACATION!", he's never been funnier. Let's hope we haven't seen the last of Hutch. NOBODY 2 gets a very solid, action & laugh packed B.

America's answer to the James Bond craze in the mid-sixties was the camp of Derek Flint and the hilarious and sexy adventures with Dean Martin as Matt Helm. In 1967, the third Helm adventure, THE AMBUSHERS hit theaters and you can feel the fingerprints of OO7's "You Only Live Twice" all over it. Released the same year, it manages to sneak in a flying saucer, a mountaintop lair and some of the goofiest scenes of the secret agent film era. It's also sexy as hell, very much of it's time and an absolute fun blast from the past. This time out, an evil criminal mastermind in Acapulco ("oh good!" you can hear producer Irving Allen squealing, "there are a LOT of blondes and bikinis in Acapulco!!") named Ortega (Albert Salmi) and his henchman Quintana (Kurt Kasnar) are out to steal the USA's new state-of-the-art flying saucer. Yep, you read that right. And after it's piloted into the atmosphere by gorgeous astronaut Shiela Sommers (Janice Rule), Ortega steals it and her, bringing it down to his island. Wait, isn't that the exact plot of "You Only Live..." oh nevermind. Helm is called into action, which seems to consist of one third shooting bad buys with one bullet, one third drinking cocktails and one third bedding whatever gorgeous woman is standing next to him. On that front, the producers and casting director have done an amazing job, collecting a fantastic group of "Slaygirls" dressed to kill anyone who gets in Helm's way. Martin seems to be having so much fun here in Mexico, that you cannot help but have fun too. My face hurt from smiling at the goofy humor that could be dropped right into Austin Powers, the madcap fights and shootouts and the horrific special effects that look like that flying saucer is landing on Gilligan's Island. The second helm film, "Murderer's Row" was a weak effort, slapped together after the box office bonanza of "The Silencers", but the third time's charm or dumb, DUMB luck. Senta Berger is stunning as Francesca Madeiros, whose poison lipstick has taken out plenty of agents with a license to kill. Beverly Adams is back and as gorgeous as ever as Helm's personal assistant, Lovey Kravesit, America's version of Pussy Galore. James Gregory is also back as Helm's boss "M", oh I mean, MacDonald. If you are a young snowflake who cannot comprehend that there are actually films made before you were born, in a time of different comedic sensibilities, you should avoid this or expect therapy. Every woman is stunning, ready to jump into bed with Helm, while battling the bad guys with the best of them. I cannot think of another actor who could have played this role in this style. Martin is funny as hell, definitely in on the joke and having a blast. Surrounded by these women in Acapulco, with a drink in hand, how could you NOT have a great time? Some think this is the worst of the Matt Helm flicks. As a huge Austin Powers aficionado with with personal memories of watching this one with my Dad, who LOVED all the Helm flicks, its one of the best for me in the sheer audacity of its goofy attitude. Hugo Montenegro's music is like finding a 1967 club record and popping it on the turntable. WOW does it take you back. The lyrics of the title song are just plain stupid and I loved it. Montenegro scored the TV classic of the era "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and he knows how to accompany big action scenes as well. Bond fans will note a scene that was directly ripped off for Roger Moore's magnetic watch and a dress zipper in 1973's "Live and Let Die". I lost count if there are more seduction or action scenes, but Dean hits bullseyes either way. To open and close the film, he gets down to business by putting on his own "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" hit record. He also manages to sneak in a great Sinatra dig as the final credits roll. Put on your grooviest outfit and settle in with THE AMBUSHERS , surely one of silliest secret agent films of all time. With Martin at the helm, everything's cool baby. It gets a nostalgic B from this corner, with fond memories of watching it with my Dad and seeing how much fun he was having from Dean-O's first martini to the last.

CAUGHT STEALING is the shocker of the summer for me. An action-packed, hilarious, violent and surprising tale, it's packed wall-to-rundown wall with memorable characters. This is a Darren Aronofksy movie? Huh? His movies have either left me cold (Noah, The Fountain) or I have outright HATED them. The self important, 2017 "Mother" being the top of that garbage heap. But this is a very different Aronofsky. Film snobs will say that he's sold out. I'd say that he's finally created a vehicle that supports the rich characters he's so great at depicting. Everyone you meet in this film is worth meeting. Some are mad, some are hilarious but all are about to experience a week that will change their lives. Austin Butler (Elvis, Dune) is a superb lead as former MLB prospect Hank Thompson. He's a nice kid whose been living in the squalor of a 1998 NYC that's riddled with graffiti and the shadows of the still standing twin towers. This is the first film in a long time for me that captures the Manhattan grit of Friedkin's "The French Connection". Hank talks to his Mom every day, mostly about the San Francisco Giants and their place in the playoffs. He's a bartender who's not shy about enjoying the wares. His casual girlfriend Yvonne (a great Zoe Kravitz) pops by on occasion at 3am and returns to Hank's shoddy apartment for some fun. Butler and Kravitz have killer chemistry on screen. When Hank's neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith from Doctor Who, sporting a giant Mohawk and plenty of studded leather) has to head off to London to see his Dad, who's just had a stroke, he asks Hank to watch his vicious cat. This starts a chain reaction of events that blast between hilarious and tragic, and that Aronofsky somehow balances to perfection. Suddenly every crime faction in NYC is after Hank. Russian henchmen arrive and beat the hell out of him. They are also absolutely hilarious, a Mutt & Jeff combo with the taller one unable to keep the shorter one under control. The violence is explosive but there are genuine laugh out loud one liners throughout. The henchmen's boss, Colorado, is well played by Bad Bunny. He's scary as hell and poor Hank is in way over his head as the violence and intimidation ratchets up. Things get much scarier when two killer Hebrew assassins come after Hank. Lipa and Shmully are lethal dudes in traditional garb and Liev Schreiber & Vincent D'Onofrio are having the time of their lives playing them. I'd like to see a sequel featuring these two. They're as lethal as Schwarznegger & Stallone and made me laugh like hell. There's a nightclub showroom showdown from Lipa and Shmully that would have felt at home in DePalma's "Scarface". Regina King (Watchmen, Ray) is Detective Roman, assigned to a case that seems to reverberate across every group in the criminal underworld. King is a bad ass from start to finish, seeing the innocence in Hank and playing against it. Even the small part of Hank's boss at the bar is perfectly played by Griffin Dunne (American Werewolf in London, After Hours). There are no small or poorly developed characters in the film. Like it's NYC setting, it's overflowing with fascinating people. There are a couple of very surprising turns that reminded me I was watching an Aronofsky film. I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. The summer movie season isn't over after all. CAUGHT STEALING delivers one of the funniest, most violent and action-packed films of the season, with Butler driving one home run scene after another over the center wall. This is my favorite Aronofsky film by light years, earning an appreciative and surprising A!

I knew walking in that WEAPONS had a brilliant story hook. What I didn't expect was its smart, "Pulp Fiction"-like story structure, so many killer performances and how tight director Zach Cregger would wind the screws. The hook is one of the best in years. At 2:17am one morning, 17 of the 18 young students in Mrs. Gandy's class run from their homes and disappear. Cregger sets up the first ten minutes with a Dateline type feel, but instead of Keith Morrison's booming voice, a young child speaks to us about what happened. It's haunting and clever, pulling you into what feels like a traditional mystery. We see a parent's meeting at the school in which devastated mothers & fathers hurl threats at Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), accusing her of knowing what happened to their children. Justine is shattered and spends her days obsessed with the welfare of the one little boy who did show up for her class the next morning, Alex. Is he okay? Cregger's screenplay begins to reveal pieces of Justine, slowly, methodically. She's harassed, intimidated and flawed. When all the parents of the missing children have no explanation, the most logical suspect is Justine. What did she tell those kids? We're then pulled into her nightmares, which got some great jumps and laughter from the nearly sold out IMAX preview crowd. What's fascinating about Cregger's style is that he delivers a LOT of laughs of the darkest nature, sometimes at the scariest moments of the film. But every time you think he's going for fun kills, he shocks you with some intense, grisly gore that pulls you back into terror. It's all brilliantly structured, not a word I use often in the horror genre beyond the usual suspects where Kubrick, Peele or Carpenter are involved. As Justine's story unfolds, the film moves solidly out of horror and back to mystery. Then we jump to another character, Archer Graff, played by Josh Brolin in one of his best performances in years. Archer's son is one of the children who ran off into the night. Like many of the parents, he can watch that run over and over on his ring camera footage. Arms spread out like he's about to take off, Matthew Graff flies out the front door, across the street and into the dark woods. Archer is falling apart, singularly obsessed with finding his son. We begin to see some of the same scenes we've already seen in Justine's story, but this time from Archer's viewpoint, both literally and psychologically. Then Cregger pops to another character and reveals their story, overlapping yet another view. Then he jumps to another character, then another. In lesser hands, this would quickly become annoying and tedious. Not here. I actually grew more excited for each jump, knowing that I'd learn more about just what in the hell is going on in this town. As frequent readers know, I'm a huge Tarantino fan and it's no small compliment to say that I feel like Cregger has captured the essence of the QT chapters in the way he tells his story, punctured by big laughs and huge scares. There were two scenes that I wanted to look anywhere but the screen as the camera slinked slowly into dark rooms. Both payoffs scared the hell out of me, along with one of those classic dream within a dream sequences that John Landis created way back in "An American Werewolf in London". The cast is great across the board, Brolin dominates every scene he's in, Garner creates a multi-faceted, troubled young woman who seems lived in, real. Alden Ehrenreich (Solo) continues to morph into one of our best character actors. This guy is almost recognizable every time I see him in a new film. His struggling cop becomes one of the funniest through-lines of the story. Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange) is terrific as the Principal of the school whose children are missing. His scenes with Garner as Justine argues why she wants to stay in her classroom are superb. Amy Madigan is unrecognizable in her role as the distant relative who's long overstayed her welcome. Two very important pieces that help define WEAPONS are its music and photography. I swear that Cinematographer Larkin Seiple (Everything Everywhere All At Once) knows what scares me. Every camera angle, every dark corner and daylight angle delivers the creeps. It's beautifully shot, morphing from a horror film to a detective story to personal drama flawlessly. The music score by Ryan and Hays Holladay and Cregger is really surprising. When the music over the opening scene morphed into what felt like a 70's ballad set up, I was thinking, "what the hell is this", but a couple minutes later, it settled in as another intriguing choice by Cregger, the sum of which have created one of the best films of the year. I see those folks online complaining that the ending is a disappointment. I disagree. Superb and ORIGINAL horror concepts are always hard to land. "Hereditary" is one of my favorite scary films of all time, but the last five minutes sucks. Not here. Cregger delivers one of the most manic, wild, bloodthirsty and propulsive finales in recent memory. It feels like he's wound the rubber band up as tight as it will go without breaking and then lets it all go in a violent, funny and thrilling finale that left our crowd looking for breath. WEAPONS is a fully loaded, funny, gory thrill ride with brains and surprises in every chamber. It gets an A.