Freeze Frame

Artificial Intelligence is once again the antagonist in the sci-fi thriller, "Mercy." Set in the crime-ridden near future, Chris Pratt plays a detective on trial for his wife's murder. He has 90 minutes to convince an A.I. judge, played by Rebecca Ferguson, of his innocence. While it gets a bit goofy and stretches credibility to the limit, “Mercy" gets to its over-the-top climax in an entertaining...

It’s double feature time for fans of stalwart actor Ralph Fiennes. "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" is the fourth installment in the horror series about a zombie infection. Fiennes plays a doctor who confronts human evil worse than that exhibited by the zombies. While gripping, well-made and genuinely scary, its graphic and sadistic violence approaches the level of torture porn. Fiennes pops up a...

In the very adult comic drama "Is This Thing On?" Will Arnett plays a man who tries out standup comedy as a way to cope with his impending divorce. Strong performances by Arnett and Laura Dern propel this empathetic tale, well directed by Bradley Cooper, who also has a funny supporting role. A number of noted comics appear as cynical versions of themselves. While fictional, the movie inspired by t...

Happy New Year. It’s time to look back and name my top ten movies, the cream of the cinematic crop for 2025. 10) THE SECRET AGENT is an oddly structured but involving Brazilian paranoia thriller set during that country’s political strife in 1977. 9) WEAPONS is an extremely original and genuinely unnerving horror chiller about 17 children who mysteriously disappear from the same grade school class....

Timothée Chalamet proves once again that he's the real deal in the whacky comic drama, "Marty Supreme." It's an offbeat character study from filmmaker Josh Safdie, set in the 1950s and involving the misadventures of a manipulative, conceited but somehow likable table tennis phenom. While fictional, it's inspired by the remarkable life of ping pong ace Marty Reisman. "Marty Supreme" is supremely wa...

"Avatar: Fire & Ash" is the third entry in the phenomenally successful sci-fi franchise, and delivers exactly what you'd expect, 3 hours and 12 minutes of spectacular visuals and zippy action. The story, however, is very repetitive and has little to offer that's new. Plus, there's no real sense of peril. The attraction is the remarkable eye candy, so if you opt to see it, go ahead and splurge...

The Netflix whodunit "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" is the third movie in filmmaker Rian Johnson's tongue-in-cheek series featuring Daniel Craig as private detective Benoit Blanc. This time out, a young priest played by Josh O'Connor is accused of murdering a charismatic monsignor. The all-star cast includes Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner and Kerry Washington. They’r...

The outstanding drama "Hamnet" is a speculative period piece about the inspiration behind Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Anchored by terrific performances by Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley as Shakespeare and his troubled wife Agnes, it's an emotionally involving tale, adapted by director Chloe Zhao from Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel. Perhaps surprisingly, "Hamnet" is a better film than Zhao's pre...

The comic fantasy "Eternity" takes the romantic triangle concept to a multidimensional level. Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner star in the tale of an afterlife weigh station, where a woman must decide whether to spend eternity with her husband of many years or her first husband who died decades earlier. The concept is better than the execution, but a likable cast gives this rom-com...

Okay, Ozians. The wait is finally over. The second and final part of the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked" is finally here. In "Wicked: For Good," Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba and Ariana Grande's Glinda use their vocal powers for good, providing a long but fitting climax. Both films combined have a running time of over 5 hours and, yes, it's padded. But thanks to spectacular produc...

"The Running Man" is a remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 dystopian action thriller based on a Stephen King book. Oddly enough, it was set in 2025. This time out, Glen Powell plays a man desperate for money for his family, who agrees to appear in a TV reality game show where he attempts to outrun a team of murderous bounty hunters to win a billion dollars. Director Edgar Wright, who made "Baby...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's dream project "Frankenstein" is now on Netflix. There is much to be admired in this visually stunning adaptation, including strong performances from Oscar Isaac as the egotistical creator and especially from Jacob Elordi as his misbegotten creation. While it's certainly worth a watch, this version adds some curious elements that resemble superhero movie...

Tessa Thompson is solid in "Hedda,” the Amazon Prime reimagining of Ibsen's classic tragedy "Hedda Gabler." Writer/director Nia DaCosta has changed the setting and added lesbian and racial components that Ibsen probably never would have imagined. While not all of DaCosta’s changes work and purists may balk, “Hedda” is a mostly effective update that remains true of Ibsen’s themes concerning the dan...

"Regretting You" is a drama about romance, infidelity and grief based on a popular novel by Colleen Hoover. A teenage girl played by McKenna Grace discovers dark secrets after some family members are lost in a tragic accident. She navigates the tragedy while experiencing a big high school crush. Grace is terrific, as is Allison Williams as her troubled mom. The story is very soapy, contrived and m...

Who would have thought that a movie with a great cast, intriguing theme and acclaimed director could have resulted in something as bad as "After the Hunt." Julia Roberts stars as a college professor who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal. The strong supporting cast includes Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny.  Director Luca Guadagnino is responsible for acclaimed fil...

Talk about product placement! The bizarre true story of a kind-hearted criminal gets the big screen treatment in "Roofman." In this entertaining comic drama, Channing Tatum stars as a clever thief who robbed dozens of McDonalds by entering the restaurants through the roof, was sent to prison, escaped, and then holed up for months in a Toys 'R' Us. Kirsten Dunst plays his clueless love interest. “R...

Respectable. That may be the best thing one can say about the new Dwayne Johnson movie "The Smashing Machine." In this art house sports drama from writer-director Benny Safdie, The Rock plays troubled mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr who battles drugs and insecurity as well as his opponents in the ring. Emily Blunt is his impatient, moderately supportive girlfriend. The performances of real-li...

Liam Neeson ("Taken") stars in a revival of the 80s absurdist franchise, "The Naked Gun," playing the son of the detective originally played by Leslie Nielson.

Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson once again proves to be one of the world's top filmmakers with his thinking man's action thriller, "One Battle After Another." Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel "Vineland," Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn star in a spellbinding, entertaining and profane tale involving wannabe revolutionaries, racism, military corruption, secret political cabals...and much more. Smar...

While it doesn't all work, the fantasy romance "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" is, at least, an interesting experiment. Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell are very appealing, but they're stranded in a bizarre story about strangers who revisit trying episodes from their past by passing through a series of mystical doorways. Its message that encourages risk-taking comes through, but “A Big, Bold, Beauti...

It's taken 41 years, but the sequel to the classic rock mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" has finally arrived. In “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer return as the clueless British hard rock band attempts a perilous comeback. Rob Reiner is back as director -on and off screen- and Paul McCartney and Elton John join in the fun along with a number o...

The very adult comic drama "Twinless" is about a straight man named Roman, played by Dylan O'Brian whose twin brother dies in an accident. He befriends a gay man named […] The post Freeze Frame: "Twinless" (R), "The Threesome" (R), "Eenie Meanie" (R) appeared first on KKFI .

Can Austin Butler carry a movie outside of "Elvis?" If the comic thriller "Caught Stealing" is any indication, the answer is ‘Yes.' Butler is fine as a baseball washout who […] The post Freeze Frame: "Caught Stealing" (R), "The Roses" (R), "The Thursday Murder Club" (PG-13) appeared first on KKFI .

Can Austin Butler carry a movie outside of "Elvis?" If the comic thriller "Caught Stealing" is any indication, the answer is ‘Yes.' Butler is fine as a baseball washout who […] The post Freeze Frame: "Caught Stealing" (R), "The Roses" (R), "The Thursday Murder Club" (PG-13) appeared first on KKFI .

Filmmaker Ron Howard's latest movie "Eden" ain't paradise. In fact, the gifted director's awkward survival drama can't find a consistent pace or tone. Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, […] The post Freeze Frame: "Eden" (R), "Honey, Don't" (R), "Relay" (R), "Night Always Comes" (R) appeared first on KKFI .