Freeze Frame

"We're way past making friends." So goes the chilling promo quote from filmmaker Aaron Sorkin's "The Social Reckoning," a sharp follow up to the now classic Facebook exposé, "The Social Network." In this smartly written and involving true story, Mikey Madison plays whistleblower Frances Haugen who worked with Wall Street Journal writer Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White, to expose some of...

Robert Redford once said, "You're only as good as you dare to be bad." Tom Cruise and Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu have dared big time, and the result is the oddball climate change satire, "Digger." In this over-the-top, very meta movie, Cruise is a crass oil tycoon responsible for steering the planet toward environmental ruin. Supporting actors Riz Ahmed, John Goodman and S...

If you're a dad, a dog lover or a Brad Pitt fan, you'll find much to like in the harrowing new survival thriller, "Heart of the Beast." Pitt plays a retired Army Special Forces veteran who suffers a heart attack while flying a plane over a remote section of Alaska. He barely survives and he and his trusty dog, Odin, also a military veteran, support one another on their treacherous 50-mile trek bac...

Filmmaker Zach Cregger, responsible for recent horror hits "Barbarian" and "Weapons" was handed the reins to reimagine the biopunk "Resident Evil" franchise about killer mutants. The result is an utterly shameless, violent, ugly...and brilliantly made adaptation of the video game that's far better than its predecessors. Austin Abrams makes an appealing everyman thrown in an apocalyptic hell. There...

The horror thriller "Don't Move" was shot in Kansas City and was written by James "Murr" Murray from the TV series "Impractical Jokers." Lyndsy Fonseca, rapper Russ and KC's own Rob Riggle star in the story of a church camping trip that goes terribly wrong when the campers get lost in the Ozarks and encounter a giant killer spider. It's a well-produced chiller that should appeal to the midnight mo...

In the Apple TV action comedy "Mayday," Ryan Reynolds plays a Navy pilot shot down in Soviet territory during the Cold War. An ex-KGB agent and America-lover, played by Kenneth Branaugh, works to help Ryan avoid certain death and escape the country. “Mayday” is mindless and silly but is a lively and amusing buddy flick bolstered by its charismatic stars. Virginia Woolf wrote her 1919 novel, "Night...

Every great filmmaker gets one Mulligan. Ridley Scott's futuristic thriller "The Dog Stars" is his. Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin star in a poorly paced and overly familiar post-apocalyptic nightmare about survivalists who face grisly dangers after a flu pandemic. There are impressive individual sequences, but “The Dog Stars” plays like scenes cobbled together instead of a cohesive whole. The hybri...

The formative years of famed gastronome Anthony Bourdain are the focus of the drama “Tony.” Dominic Sessa plays the callow and self-centered 19-year-old in a highly fictionalized tale loosely adapted from Bourdain’s bestselling autobiography “Kitchen Confidential.” It may not be authentic, but a sharp cast and thoughtful script make “Tony” a full flavored coming-of-age drama. The wacky cinematic e...

The intriguing historical drama "The Brink of War" focuses on the 1986 Reykjavik nuclear disarmament talks between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris portray the Cold War leaders and J.K. Simmons plays Secretary of State George Schultz. First time filmmaker Michael Russell Gunn speculates about what the dialogue between these philosophical opponents may have been li...

The high concept rom com "One Night Only" has an original premise, but sketchy execution. In a future where premarital sex is outlawed, one night a year is left open for singles to hook up. Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner play singles looking for a brief encounter, but circumstances keep throwing them together and pulling them apart. There are a few clever moments but "One Night Only" can never o...

Is it possible to find something fresh in a superhero series as long in the tooth as Spider-Man's? Well, thanks to solid acting, thoughtful pacing and some terrific action set pieces, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is an involving and peppy popcorn flick. In an attempt to save his friends and loved ones from harm, Peter Parker had Dr. Strange cast a spell so that no one would know him. But the arriva...

For audiences that love action and hate dialogue, "Motor City" might be the movie for you. Alan Ritchson stars in this over-the-top crime thriller set in 1970s Detroit. There are only about four lines of dialogue in this entire story of a man who escapes from prison to seek revenge on a drug dealer who framed him. Ben Foster and Shailene Woodley co-star in a plot propelled by classic music of the...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Christopher Nolan's larger-than-life cinematic style is well suited for Homer's "The Odyssey," and his adaptation of the epic tale sails impressively onto the silver screen. Big ideas and big themes dominate the big screen in this ancient horror story. Matt Damon leads a strong ensemble as Odysseus, the morally conflicted king of Ithaca who must face down demons of all sort...

So, what does the term "live-action version" really mean? In the case of Disney's remake of their 2016 animated musical hit "Moana," it means there are some real actors on screen along with a whole lot of computer-generated animation tweaked to look realistic. Same songs save for one. Dwayne Johnson is back as demigod Maui, and we have a new Moana nicely played by Cathrine Laga'Aia. Otherwise, it...

Looking for a holiday weekend flick to get the kids out of the blazing heat? You could do a lot worse than "Minions & Monsters," the third installment in the "Minions" prequel series and the seventh installment overall in the "Despicable Me" franchise. This time out, circumstances find the Minions in 1920s Hollywood, and they decide to make a monster movie. The pacing and animation are solid i...

While newcomer Millie Alcock soars as the new punk "Supergirl," her movie never quite flies. Giving her a personality that contrasts with her strait-laced cousin Superman was a smart choice, but the filmmakers aren't quite able to pull all the elements together. Still, the eye candy is first-rate, and the action sequences are well-staged. Maybe the best thing you can say is that "Supergirl" is a s...

Can the folks at Pixar continue to extract gold from the "Toy Story" mine after over thirty years? As "Toy Story 5" deftly demonstrates, the answer is definitely, "Yes." This time out, the focus is on cowgirl Jessie and how she and the other old school toys are threatened by high tech devices. As we've come to expect the folks at Pixar spend most of their efforts on creating a compelling and heart...

Kansas City's channel 4 news gets invaded by aliens in the wild new Stephen Spielberg sci-fi opus "Disclosure Day." Emily Blunt plays a KC meteorologist, and Josh O'Connor is a cybersecurity expert who each experience a psychic connection to an alien intelligence, putting them at odds with a shady non-government agency. The actors are fine, the suspense is palpable, and the camerawork and action s...

With movies like “Once,” “Begin Again” and “Sing Street,” Irish filmmaker John Carney has found a way to make movie musicals relevant for contemporary audiences. His latest effort is "Power Ballad." Kansas City's Paul Rudd stars alongside Nick Jonas in the story of a struggling wedding singer who bonds with a pop star. When the former boy band member steals a song from his friend, things get dicey...

When JFK asked Dwight Eisenhower why the Normandy invasion was a success, Eisenhower replied, "Because we had better meteorologists than the Germans." That's the crux of the new WWII historical drama, "Pressure." In this taut movie, Andrew Scott plays a brilliant British meteorologist who butted heads with Eisenhower, played by Brendan Fraser, over the timing of the D-Day invasion. “Pressure” is a...

If you're a fan of the Disney+ TV series, "The Mandalorian," then you'll probably find enough to like in the big screen edition, "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu." The story plays like a few TV episodes folded into one and ballooned onto the big screen. That’s because the movie version was apparently an afterthought. Still, there's plenty of action, visual razzle dazzle and cute aliens to spa...

The new horror entry "Obsession" falls into the 'be careful what you ask for, you may get it' genre. This effective little chiller is about a man who buys a supernatural toy that grants him a wish. He wishes that a girl he has a crush on would fall madly in love with him. Emphasis on the "madly." Her obsession with him quickly escalates into violence. Well-acted by relative newcomers Michael Johns...

Pop phenom Billie Elish joins forces with Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron to present a cinematic adaptation that captures her 2024-25 concert tour, "Billie Elish - Hit Me Hard and Soft." Since Elish doesn't employ choreography or elaborate costumes, Cameron uses dozens of swooping, acrobatic cameras and clever editing to add additional visual dazzle. The backstage footage is minimal, but int...

George Orwell's classic totalitarian critique "Animal Farm" gets a dumbed-down animated big screen incarnation. Yes, the pigs take over the farm, but the metaphors don't fly. The all-star voice cast includes Seth Rogan, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin and Woody Harrelson but their efforts are for naught. Screenwriter Nicholas Stoller and director Andy Serkis deserve some credit for trying a new approac...

If you're looking for an in-depth, warts-and-all biopic about the King of Pop, keep looking. If you want a slick, entertaining reenactment of some great music, then "Michael" is the movie for you. Jaafar Jackson is fine portraying his famous uncle Michael Jackson in this family-sanctioned overview of the first 20 years of Jackson's career. The movie seesaws between Jackson's relationship with his...