Finding Emily (2026)

I loved this rom-com about a Gen Z musician trying to locate his dream girl at her college in England. Spike Fearn stars as Owen and Angourie Rice plays a different Emily who helps Owen in his quest. I particularly enjoyed Prasanna Puwanarajah as a snarky professor, Minnie Driver as the beleaguered dean, and Kat Ronney as a pink-haired Emily.

Alicia MacDonald makes her feature debut directing from the sweet script by Rachel Hirons. Music is important here and, even though we don't learn that Owen is a musician until the second act, there are 28 songs, according to this site. The Apple Music soundtrack lists only thirteen, with five of them by the movie's composer Morgan Kibby and not included in the 28.

Interesting trivia factoids include that it was originally set at UCLA but Hirons moved it to Manchester, England, a half hour from her home, where it was almost entirely shot; and that Fearn had a lot of training to perform as a musician.

This movie had been on my radar for a long time. As my long-time followers know, since lockdown I have only streamed movies, almost always in the afternoon. But now I am away from my home theatre for a few months, and my current apartment's windows are very sunny in the afternoon. So I went to my second movie in a bricks-and-mortar theatre since Tenet, when eleven of us rented a screening room in November of 2020. This time I forgot to ask for the caption device and, wow, did I need it. Owen's Manchester accent is thick and his brother's is even thicker. That said, it is now available for rent and you should turn on the captions. I may even watch it again sometime to see what I missed.

Rice was last blogged for Mean Girls and Driver for Millers in Marriage. Fearn has a handful of credits, including Aftersun, though I failed to mention him. Puwanarajah looked familiar because he was in seven episodes of Too Much and two of The Crown. Ronney is new to me. This is Hirons' fourth feature and Kibby's twelfth.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences have found this project very enjoyable, averaging 89 and 90%. I watched it September 5. Don't walk away when the credits roll, because there's a major "where are they now" bonus.

The Dink (2026)

Jack and I had a few laughs with this lightweight story of a failed tennis prodigy now country club tennis instructor who turns to pickleball after an injury. It stars Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen as his pickleball partner, Ed Harris as his mean dad who owns the club, Ben Stiller as a doctor, Aaron Chen as Dustin's tennis assistant, Fortune Feimster as another pickleball player, Patton Oswalt as a vocal member of the club, and former, but not failed, tennis pros Andy Roddick and John McEnroe as themselves. 

Josh Greenbaum directs from the script by Sean Clements. The original score by Dara Taylor is available online only as a two minute suite on YouTube, but you're much more likely to remember the great songs.

Dink is a kind of pickleball shot: a soft return. And Johnson and others trained so that they could actually play on screen.

Johnson was last blogged for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Steenburgen for Happiest Season, Harris for The Lost Daughter, Stiller for The Meyerowitz Stories, Feimster for Social Animals, Oswalt for I Love My Dad, Greenbaum for Will & Harper, and Taylor for Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar (which was directed by Greenbaum). I mention Chen primarily as a plug for the hilarious series Fisk, set in his native Australia, and this is Clements' feature screenwriting debut after writing for several TV series.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, averaging 76%, are scoring higher than its audiences at 58. After seeing many ads for this movie on Apple TV, we streamed it on August 14.

The Invite (2026)

Jack and I loved this cringey, profane story of a tense couple, whose marriage is on the rocks, and their dinner party with a couple in their building. Several others of our friends loved it, too. Olivia Wilde directs and stars as the tightly wound wife in couple #1 with Seth Rogen as her baffled husband. When gorgeous couple #2, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, enters the picture it gets even more crazy.

Will McCormack and Rashida Jones adapted the screenplay from the Spanish movie 2020 movie Sentimental AKA The People Upstairs. Devonté Hynes' jittery original score can be streamed on Apple Music. Wikipedia says he plays cello, among other instruments, and that is primary in this score.

A few fun trivia tidbits: Wilde dedicated the movie to her mentor Diane Keaton, who died three months before the movie's Sundance Film Festival release; it opens with a quotation from Oscar Wilde, who is no relation to the director (her birth name is Olivia Jane Cockburn); and this is the seventh adaptation of Sentimental (I counted more than the imdb trivia), all in other languages.

Wilde was last blogged for directing and acting in Don't Worry Darling, Rogen for Dumb Money, Cruz for Ferrari, Norton for A Complete Unknown, the writing team of McCormack and Jones for Celeste and Jesse Forever, and Hynes for Passing. 

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences have RSVPed yes, please, with averages of 96 and 89%, respectively. We rented it on August 11.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

Not great but we're not sorry we watched it. Glamorous wardrobe, artwork, production design, and locations power this glossy sequel despite the squandering of the talents of Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Stanley, Tucci, and Emily Blunt, all reprising their roles of Andy, Miranda, Nigel, and Emily from the 2006 original, which I remember loving. This one takes place, appropriately, twenty years later and some of the gags are about people being scolded for their outdated (i.e. politically incorrect) language and actions as Streep's character's magazine takes its place in the 21st century. The rest of the enormous cast includes Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, Lucy Liu, Simone Ashley, Rachel Bloom, and B.J. Novak.

Director David Frankel, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, director of photography Florian Ballhaus, and composer Theodore Shapiro also return for this outing. Shapiro's high energy score is available on all the usual platforms. Today I'm listening on Spotify for a change (my Apple Music is crunching something else at the moment). Lady Gaga has a cameo and contributes several songs, my favorites of which are Runway and Shape of a Woman. Of course Madonna's Vogue is featured as well as at least fifteen other songs.

Molly Rogers deserves a shout out for the costumes and Ballhaus' cinematography is important to the high production values.

Hathaway and Shapiro were last blogged for The Intern (in which Hathaway's character was not unlike Miranda from these two movies), Streep for Death Becomes Her, Tucci for Conclave, Blunt for The Fall Guy, Theroux for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Branagh for Tenet, Bloom for the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (created, as it happens, by McKenna), Novak for Inglourious Basterds, Frankel for Jerry & Marge Go Large, and McKenna for Cruella. 

Of her over a hundred credits, Liu is best known for Kill Bill:Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004), and one of the Charlie's Angels (2000). And I recognized Ashley from the two British series Sex Education (2019-21) and Bridgerton (2022-26). Ballhaus has shot a bunch of things I've seen but this is his first mention in these pages.

Rotten Tomatoes' audiences are buying the trends at 84% more than its critics at 78. Jack and I streamed it on Hulu on August 7.

The Choral (2025)

You don't have to sing in a chorus, as I do, to love this movie, as I did, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Jack loved it, too, and he is not a singer. Set in England against the brutalities of World War I in 1916, the movie is about a community choir, led eventually by Ralph Fiennes, a brilliant, idiosyncratic, and demanding director. Three of the singing voices are dubbed by professionals, that of Roger Allam as tenor Bernard Duxbury, Amara Okereke as soprano Mary, and Jacob Dudman as tenor Clyde. The acting is quite wonderful all around and the music uplifting.

Nicholas Hytner directs from the marvelous script by Alan Bennett, with the original score by George Fenton, which is sadly not available to stream. Here's an interesting article about the Royal College of Music singers who participated.

Fiennes was last blogged for Conclave, Hytner and Bennett for The Lady in the Van, and Fenton for The Duke. Allam looked familiar to me, perhaps because his nearly a hundred credits include The Queen (2006), The Iron Lady, and The Lady in the Van. I don't believe I've seen Okereke before, but Dudman has been in nine episodes of the Scrubs reboot.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, with a 66% average, are not singing its praises as much as its audiences at 78. We watched it on Netflix on July 29.

Project Hail Mary (2026)

Despite its excessive length of 2:36, Jack and I enjoyed this sci-fi thriller about a middle school science teacher who awakens from a coma on a spaceship and has to figure out why he is there and what to do. Ryan Gosling is good as the teacher Ryland Grace and there are some unexpected laughs here and there. The character Rocky is voiced by lead puppeteer James Ortiz. The large cast includes Sandra Hüller appearing in many flashbacks as the head of the task force that sent him to space and Lionel Boyce in a pivotal part as a security guy. 

The movie was co-directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from the screenplay by Drew Goddard, based on Andy Weir's 2021 novel. As usual, I'm streaming on Apple Music the original score as I write, this one by Daniel Pemberton.

A vast number of trivia points include that, speaking of excessive length, the original cut was a staggering 3:45.

Gosling was last blogged for The Fall Guy, Hüller for Zone of Interest, Goddard for Bad Times at the El Royale, Weir for the novel on which Goddard based the screenplay for The Martian, and Pemberton for Materialists. Ortiz's credits include three previous movies as an actor and two as a puppeteer. Boyce is best known to us as Carl, the pastry chef in 47 episodes of The Bear. This is the fifth feature co-directed by Lord and Miller and they have various wins and nominations for their writing and producing.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are full of Grace (like the spaceship) and tied at 95% approval. We streamed it on Amazon Prime on July 14.

I Love Boosters (2026)

This insane, loud, fever dream is not for everyone but Jack and I didn't hate it. Taylour Paige, Keke Palmer, and Naomi Ackie are shoplifters (boosters) of high end fashion in San Francisco, focusing on the work of one designer, played hilariously by Demi Moore. Support comes from Poppy Liu, LaKeith Stanfield, and more, with a cameo by Don Cheadle.

Director/writer Boots Riley keeps the madcap pace going throughout. Do not turn this off when the credits roll, because there is another scene at the very end. The crazy original score by Tune-Yards (Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner) is streaming on Apple Music as I type. Palmer has also released five songs from the soundtrack as a separate album.

I must mention the colorful costumes designed by Shirley Kurata.

Paige was last blogged for Sharp Stick, Palmer for One of Them Days, Moore for The Substance, Stanfield for Roofman, Cheadle for White Noise, and Riley and Tune-Yards for Sorry to Bother You. Ackie is new to me but not to her craft and Liu has appeared in episodes of Better Call Saul, The Afterparty,  and Hacks, to name a few. Kurata was recognized many times for her work in Everything Everywhere All at Once, including an Oscar nominations and a win from her peers in the Costume Designers Guild. This is her sixth feature heading the wardrobe department.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics love these folks with a 92% average, though its audiences' average needs a boost from 75. We rented it on July 24.

The Sheep Detectives (2026)

Everyone we talked to said they loved this comedic mystery wherein a herd of anthropomorphic sheep solve the murder of their beloved shepherd, and Jack and I loved it, too. Hugh Jackman is the sweet shepherd, and the sheep who talk to each other but not to humans are voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (she plays the smart one), Brett Goldstein (both of the dumb twins), Patrick Stewart (the old one), Chris O'Dowd (with the good memory), Bryan Cranston (the fighter), and more.

The live action cast also includes Emma Thompson as the solicitor (looking gorgeous, I must say), Nicholas Braun as the hapless policeman, Nicholas Galitzine as a reporter, and Molly Gordon makes an appearance in the second act but I think it's a mild spoiler to tell you her character.

Kyle Balda directs from Craig Mazin's screenplay, based on the 2005 novel Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. Christophe Beck's lilting soundtrack is streaming from Apple Music as I type.

Jackman was last blogged for Song Sung Blue, Louis-Dreyfus for You Hurt My Feelings, Stewart for Logan, O'Dowd for Juliet, Naked, Cranston for Asteroid City, Thompson for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Braun for Saturday Night, Galitzine for The Idea of You, Gordon for Oh, Hi!, and Beck for Unfrosted.

Goldstein is best known as Roy Kent in 34 episodes (so far) of Ted Lasso, which he wrote many of, and then he played Louis in 33 episodes (so far) of Shrinking, which he co-created and wrote even more of. Balda has directed some animated features, none of which I've seen, and this is Mazin's ninth feature.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences have all the clues with averages of 95 and 96%. We streamed it on Prime on July 6. Oh, and I was that many years old when I learned that lamb and sheep are the same species, just at different ages!

No Other Choice (Eo-jjeol su-ga eop-da - 2025)

I didn't love, despite its rave reviews, this story of a Korean man whose perfect life unravels when he gets fired from his job and takes extreme measures to get another. No accounting for taste. Lee Byung-hun plays the lead and Son Ye-jin plays his wife.

Director/co-writer Park Chan-Wook is much revered for his previous work but I've watched only one (see below). The script was co-written by Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar, and Jahye Lee, and based on Donald Westlake's 1997 novel The Ax. The movie is dedicated to Costa-Gavras, revered Greek director/writer, who adapted the same novel into The Axe (2005), which I have not seen, but I have seen some of that director's work.

Cho Young-wuk's soundtrack is available for streaming on Apple Music.

Lee Byung-hun was last blogged for The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Park and Cho for Decision to Leave, and McKellar for Blindness. Son is new to me but not to the business. Lee Kyoung-mi has co-written two other features with Park, both directed by her. Jahye Lee co-wrote one other feature, also co-written by Park, but not directed by either one.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences enthusiastically choose this, averaging 97 and 93%, respectively. I downloaded it from Hulu and watched it on a long plane ride on July 2.

Rental Family (2025)

I loved this poignant story of an American actor in Tokyo who finds work impersonating family members. Apparently, this is a real thing in Japan. Brendan Fraser is wonderful as Phillip, as are the supporting cast, including Takehiro Hira as the business owner Shinji, Mari Yamamoto as his colleague Aiko, Akira Emoto as retired actor Kikuo, and young Shannon Mahina Gorman as schoolgirl Mia.

Director Hikari co-wrote the script with Stephen Blahut and there are some laughs. The wonderful music by Jónsi and Alex Somers (stream it on Apple Music) is supplemented by about a dozen songs, listed here.

The gorgeous location photography is thanks to Takuro Ishizaka.

Fraser was last blogged for Sea Lions of the Galapagos, a couple of years after winning the Best Actor Oscar for The Whale, and Jónsi and Somers for Captain Fantastic.

The others are new to me but Hira has dozens of credits, Yamamoto twenty-something, and Emoto hundreds. Miss Gorman has been nominated for eight awards for this, her acting debut. Hikari directed and wrote one other feature and she directed three episodes of Beef. This is Blahut's first screenplay and he was director of photography in Hikari's other feature. Ishizaka has shot 19 other features and won some awards for one short film.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics want a long lease with their average of 87%, while its audiences are looking to buy at 95.

I have written a list of rules, or tropes, in movies and TV and this inspired me to add a new one: any movie set in Tokyo will have a shot of the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, the world's busiest pedestrian intersection, and this is no exception. For my complete list, click here.

I downloaded this from Hulu for a long plane flight on June 27.

Ella McCay (2025)

This story of a young progressive female politician juggling work and family was savaged by critics but Jack and I didn't hate it, due in part to its star power. Heading the huge cast are Emma Mackey in the title role, Jamie Lee Curtis as Ella's aunt, Woody Harrelson and Rebecca Hall as Ella's parents, Albert Brooks as the governor (the state is unnamed but it was shot in Rhode Island), Kumail Nanjiani as a kind state trooper, with Ayo Edebiri in a cameo. Julie Kavner as the narrator, and Tracey Ullman as the voice of Olympia.

Veteran director/writer James L. Brooks has settled into a comfortable rut with pretty people, pretty locations, and just a little conflict, which could explain the bad ratings for this picture (see below). Seasoned composer Hans Zimmer provides the lilting soundtrack, available on Apple Music.

Mackey was last blogged for Barbie, Curtis for The Last Showgirl, Harrelson for Fly Me to the Moon, Hall for The Dinner, Albert Brooks for Concussion, Nanjiani for Death to 2020, Edebiri for Bottoms, Ullman for Death to 2021, James Brooks for How Do You Know (which I panned), and Zimmer for F1: The Movie.

Kavner may be best known for providing the voice of Marge Simpson in 805 episodes of The Simpsons (co-created by James Brooks) so far. It has been renewed for season 40, even though only 37 have been made. She has been in a handful of live action projects, including 109 episodes of Rhoda and movies Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), New York Stories (1989), Forget Paris (1995), and Deconstructing Harry (1997).

Rotten Tomatoes' critics think this one is salmon-Ella, with a 23% average, while its audiences  are only slightly less sickened at 58. We streamed it on Hulu on June 14.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)

Jack and I enjoyed this fictionalized retelling of Bruce Springsteen’s creation of his 1982 album Nebraska. In the title role, Jeremy Allen White does his own performing (listen here) after getting voice, guitar, and harmonica coaching. The great cast also includes Jeremy Strong as his manager/producer Jon Landau, Paul Walter Hauser as his best friend Mike, Odessa Young as his girlfriend Faye (an amalgam of women in Springsteen’s life), and Stephen Graham and Gaby Hoffmann as his parents. Though we were excited to see Marc Maron listed as producer/engineer Chuck Plotkin, he had very few lines. Producer Jimmy Iovine appears as himself. Stephen Singer’s part as a psychiatrist is not big but his face is familiar because we’ve seen him in dozens of movies and TV shows.

Director Scott Cooper based his screenplay on the 2023 book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska by Warren Zanes, plus some elements of Springsteen's 2016 autobiography Born to Run. In the interesting imdb trivia, Cooper calls this an "anti-biopic."

In addition to the Springsteen songs, Lumineers co-founder Jeremiah Fraites has provided a lovely score, available to stream on Apple Music and elsewhere.

After I wrote about White in Afterschool he won a bunch of awards for 39 episodes of The Bear. Strong was last blogged for Armageddon Time, Hauser for The Naked Gun, Young for Shirley, Graham for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hoffman for C'mon C'mon, Maron as the subject of the documentary Are We Good? and for acting in To Leslie, and Cooper for Crazy Heart (about a fictional musician). This is Iovine's first and Fraites' fifth feature.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics want this picture to stay nowhere, averaging 61%, while its audiences like the delivery better at 82. We watched it on May 19 on Hulu.

Is This Thing On? (2025)

We liked a lot this story of a couple navigating an amicable divorce while discovering and rediscovering their true passions for comedy and sports. Will Arnett and Laura Dern are terrific as Alex and Tess, and are supported by a bearded and bespectacled Bradley Cooper, who directed, as Alex's best friend "Balls," Andra Day as Balls' wife Christine, Amy Sedaris as a comedy club emcee, Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds as Alex's parents, Sean Hayes as another friend Stephen, and Scott Icenogle (Haye's real-life husband) as Stephen's husband. Peyton Manning has a cameo as Tess' old friend, as do several actual comics.

Cooper co-wrote the script with Arnett, Mark Chappell, and John Bishop. When Bishop, who turned to stand-up comedy while separated from his wife, met Arnett, Arnett was so fascinated by Bishop's story that they turned it into this movie.

James Newberry's evocative score can be streamed on Apple Music. Cooper also acted as camera operator for most of the scenes that didn't include him, something he hadn't done before, for director of photography Matthew Libatique.

Cooper was last blogged for acting in Superman and for directing (and acting in) Maestro, Arnett for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Dern for Jay Kelly, Day for United States vs. Billie Holiday, Sedaris for Theater Camp, Ebersole for Licorice Pizza, Hinds for Belfast, Chappell for See How They Run, and Libatique for Maestro.

Hayes is best known for 246 episodes of Will & Grace but has lots of other credits on screens big and small and on stage. Icenogle is a music producer/composer (including for Will & Grace) and Manning is a retired football player with three features to his credit. Newberry has scored dozens of features, TV, and shorts

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are listening, with an 87% average, with its audiences not far behind at 82. Jack and I watched it on Hulu on May 24.

Eleanor the Great (2025)

Jack and I enjoyed this story, both funny and moving, of 94 year old Eleanor dealing with the loss of her best friend. June Squibb, born in 1929, was probably 94 when it was shot and she is, as always, terrific in the title role. The supporting cast includes Rita Zohar as Eleanor's Holocaust survivor friend Bessie, Jessica Hecht as Eleanor's daughter, and Erin Kellyman and Chiwetel Ejiofor as a journalism student and her journalist father.

Scarlett Johansson and Tory Kamen make their debuts as director and writer, respectively. I must admit that the movie had some slow parts, but they were worth the wait. Dustin O'Halloran's pleasant soundtrack is available on Apple Music and probably elsewhere.

Kamen's back story about the creation of her screenplay is fascinating, but contains spoilers, so read it after watching. I appreciated that it points out that Bessie always tells her own story in flashbacks.

Squibb was last blogged for Thelma, Ejiofor for Doctor Strange, and O'Halloran for The Current War. I've seen some of Zohar's one-off TV episodes. Among Hecht's over a hundred credits, I have liked Sideways (2004), Dan in Real Life (2007), two episodes of Succession in 2019, and four of Dickinson 2019-21. Kellyman is new to me but not to the business.

Rotten Tomatoes' audiences found this great, with a 93% average, but not its critics at 67. We streamed it on Netflix on May 15.

One of Them Days (2025)

Jack and I enjoyed this romp about Los Angeles roommates in dire need of rent money. Musicians Keke Palmer and SZA star as Dreux (pronounced Drew) and Alyssa, respectively, heading the big cast that includes Katt Williams, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Lil Rel Howery, and Maude Apatow.

Lawrence Lamont directs from Syreeta Singleton's screenplay, and Chanda Dancy's soundtrack is available on Apple Music. In addition, there are lots of fun songs, listed here, including performances by Palmer and Madison McFerrin..

Howery was last blogged for We Grown Now and Apatow for The King of Staten Island.

Palmer has loads of credits as a singer and actress, but the only ones I've seen are four episodes of Masters of Sex (2014), and SZA makes her film acting debut after dozens of music videos and an Oscar nomination for composing a song featured in Black Panther. Comedian Williams is no stranger to screens big and small. Calloway's four decade resume includes Coming to America (1988) and its 2017 sequel, Southside with You as Michelle Obama's mother Marian, 23 episodes of Shameless, and eight of This Is Us.

This is Lamont's feature debut after directing a handful of music videos and one TV series. It's also Singleton's feature debut, but she wrote for the same series, was executive story on twenty episodes of Insecure, and was staff writer for the animated series Central Park. Dancy is new to me, despite her dozens of projects. 

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are loving this day, averaging 94% and its audiences are close at 89. We watched it on Netflix on May 10.

Orangutan (2026)

Another spectacular Disneynature Earth Day release, this documentary follows various families of the Southeast Asian mammals with humor and poignancy. Josh Gad narrates this time around, working with co-directors Mark Linfield and Vanessa Berlowitz.

I'm streaming the sweet original score by Nitin Sawhney on Apple Music, but I must mention the inclusion of I Wanna Be Like You from The Jungle Book (1967) and a few other pop songs.

Director of Photography Zaid Abdulah leads a talented crew to give us 100% live cinematography with no computer generated images.

Gad was last blogged for Marshall and Linfield, Berlowitz, and Sawhney for the Disneynature doc Tiger. Abdulah shot one other orangutan documentary, not affiliated with Disney.

My affection for this series led me to keep a running list. All recommended. There apparently aren't enough reviews on Rotten Tomaties to give it a rating so just watch it when you or your kids or grandkids are in the mood.

We saw it April 24, two days after its Earth Day release, streaming on the Disney channel. Remember, there's no G at the end of the word!

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)

Fans of the TV series, as I am, will enjoy this sentimental franchise finish, taking place in 1930, for its familiar cast and beautiful production values, as I did. Almost all of the ensemble is back, including Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, and Paul Giamatti in the family, and Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Joanne Froggatt, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera as servants, and many more. A few new actors appear as well. The movie is dedicated to Maggie Smith, who died a year and a half ago at 89.

Director Simon Curtis again takes the helm from the script by series creator/writer Julian Fellowes. The original score by John Lunn is available on Apple Music. There are some fun scenes with Arty Froushan as Noel Coward. The credits say that the singing voice is actually Coward's. And the luscious cinematography, production design, and wardrobe add to the experience, thanks to Ben Smithard, Donal Woods, and Anna Robbins, respectively.

Dockery was last blogged for The Sense of an Ending, Carmichael for A United Kingdom, Bonneville for Viceroy's House, McGovern for Kick-Ass, Giamatti for The Holdovers, Carter for The Good Liar, Coyle for Mary Queen of Scots, McShera for Cinderella, Curtis for Goodbye Christopher Robin, and Fellowes, Lunn, Smithard, Woods, and Robbins for the 2019 movie Downton Abbey. Froggatt and Nicol have no other mentions in these pages besides the cast list in the 2019 version and Froushan is new to me. Full disclosure, there was a Downton Abbey movie in 2022 that I did not see, but I did watch all 52 episodes on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are down with this movie, averaging 91 and 95%, respectively. I streamed it on a plane on March 27 and it is currently available on Netflix.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2025)

This unhinged science fiction comedy had us scratching our heads a little–Jack said it’s destined to become a cult classic–but we kept at it. Sam Rockwell's character, a suicide bomber claiming to be from the future, appears in a Los Angeles diner in order to draft the customers on a mission. Rockwell is a terrific actor, as is the supporting cast, which includes Haley Lu Richardson, Zazie Beetz, Michael Peña, and Juno Temple.

Directed by Gore Verbinski from Matthew Robinson's script, it probably isn't meant for our boomer demographic, but that seldom stops us. I am enjoying Geoff Zanelli's soundtrack on Apple Music, including a snappy title track, as I type.

Rockwell was last blogged for See How They Run, Richardson for Love at First Sight, Beetz (we loved her in 30 episodes of Atlanta and other TV) for Nine Days, Peña for Ant-Man and the Wasp, Temple for Roofman (and 34 episodes of Ted Lasso), Verbinski for The Lone Ranger, and Zanelli for House of D, a 2004 release we watched in 2020 on our very last Netflix hard copy DVD (he has scored dozens of projects since then). This is Robinson's fifth produced feature screenplay.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are having a bit of fun with this, averaging 81 and 85%. Overcome by our very, very long list of movies, we went off-list on April 17 from a Apple TV recommendation and rented it on April 17.

F1: The Movie (2025)

Jack and I found this story of a race car driver coming out of retirement entertaining but not, in our opinion, a Best Picture, though nominated by the Academy. Plenty of star power leads the glossy action picture, with Brad Pitt in the lead and support coming from Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Tobias Menzies, among many.

Director Joseph Kosinski keeps it moving, though not fast enough, because it's just over two and a half hours long, from the script by Ehren Kruger. The prolific composer Hans Zimmer's exciting original score can be streamed on Apple Music, and that platform also has an album of fun songs.

Shout out to cinematographer Claudio Miranda. The first five of the many trivia items on imdb are fascinating (I didn't go further), some of which go into special photography techniques.

The movie's 31 wins include the Oscar for Best Sound and its 129 other nominations include Oscars for Best Picture, Visual Effects, and Editing, plus Miranda's nomination by his peers in the American Society of Cinematographers.

Pitt was last blogged for Babylon, Bardem for The Good Boss, Condon for Train Dreams, Menzies for You Hurt My Feelings, Kosinski, Kruger, and Zimmer for Top Gun: Maverick, and Miranda for Nyad. This is Idris's seventh feature but he is new to me.

33 producers lands this a spot on my Producers Plethora Prize list, though the current winner is Ferrari, coincidentally also about car racing, at 53.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are easing up at 82% but its audiences are full throttle at 97% approval. Jack watched it a week or two before I did on March 13 on Apple TV.

Frankenstein (2025)

I did see almost all of the Oscar nominees before the awards but have lagged in putting fingers to keyboard. That said, Jack and I were impressed with this powerful and technically complex story of the scientist and the creature he brings to life. Jacob Elordi was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor for playing The Creature, with terrific performances by Oscar Isaac as the scientist Victor Frankenstein, Christoph Waltz as a merchant named Harlander, and Mia Goth in dual roles as Frankenstein's mother and Harlander's niece.

Guillermo del Toro directs from the script he adapted from the original 1818 Mary Shelley novel and was Oscar-nominated for Adapted Screenplay. Wikipedia says that since 1915 there are 480 feature films, 243 short films, 103 TV series, and 413 TV episodes based on that book.

Streaming Alexandre Desplat's Oscar nominated original score on Apple Music is bringing back the mood, since we watched this over seven weeks ago.

Among the movie's overall 89 wins are the Best Makeup Oscar by Mike Hill (there were frequently ten-hour makeup sessions for Elordi), the Production Design Oscar by Tamara Deverell, and the Costume Design Oscar by Kate Hawley. Its 260 other nominations, besides the three named above, include Oscars for Best Picture, Best Cinematography by Dan Lausten, and sound.

I did make a note at the time about realistic wolf puppets. Watch for them! Imdb has a long list of trivia items for those with the time and fascination to read it.

Elordi was last blogged for Priscilla, Isaac for Dune, Waltz for Downsizing, Goth for Emma., Del Toro and Deverell for Nightmare Alley, Desplat for The Piano Lesson, and Lausten for The Color Purple

Both Hill and Hawley have won their first Oscars for this and are making their first appearance in these pages. Hill has done makeup and prosthetics for del Toro's pictures at least twice before, on The Shape of Water and Nightmare Alley. Hawley's nine other features include The Edge of Tomorrow.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics, with an 85% average, aren't quite as animated as their audience's 94. We streamed it on Netflix on March 10.