Movie Review: ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’

by admin | Jun 22, 2025 | Articles, Moviephone Articles

‘Everything’s Going to be Great’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Opening in theaters on June 20th is ‘Everything’s Going to be Great,’ which chronicles the ups-and-downs of a family who (mostly) work behind the scenes in a local Ohio theatre.

Directed by Jon S. Baird (‘Filth’), the film stars Bryan Cranston (‘The Studio’), Allison Janney (‘The Help’), Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (‘Pinocchio’), Jack Champion (‘Avatar: The Way of Water’) and Chris Cooper (‘American Beauty’)

Related Article: ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is Awkwardly Hilarious High-Level Filmmaking

Initial Thoughts

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth in Jon. S. Baird’s ‘Everything’s Going to Be Great’ Photo: Lionsgate.

The sort of small-scale, yet big-hearted comedy drama that looks to carve out space among the bigger movies at the box office, ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’ looks to mostly draw attention from its two leads and a quirky blend of coming-of-age misadventures, family tension and, just to mix things up, visions of long-dead entertainment figures.

It’s something a little different from director Jon S. Baird, who is better known for the more vulgar likes of police comedy ‘Filth’, but has certainly dipped into theatrics before via his biopic ‘Stan & Ollie.’

Script and Direction

Allison Janney and Chris Cooper in Jon. S. Baird’s ‘Everything’s Going to Be Great’ Photo: Lionsgate.

Scriptwriter Steven Rogers has been cranking out screenplays for decades –– his resume stretches back to the 1990s likes of ‘Hope Floats’ and ‘Stepmom’ and his most recent produced screenplay was 2017’s ‘I, Tonya’.

With all that experience, you might have hoped for something a little more solid and unique from his latest, which, while it is far from a failure, meanders along through some mildly entertaining moments but never really seems to come alive. Which is disappointing for a movie about characters whose lives are mostly lived in theatrical fashion.

Bumbling along as patriarch Buddy (Bryan Cranston) struggles and schemes to score a contract at a new bigger theatre venue, it’s also partly focused on youngest son Lester (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), who has his own dreams of stage stardom, but must first figure out more basics aspects of life, such as fitting in at middle school.

Older brother Derrick (Jack Champion), meanwhile, has his own issues –– he’d prefer to live a more normal life, comprised of playing football and dating girls, and is sick of having to perform in musicals.

Then there’s Macy (Allison Janney), who is really hoping things change for the family, but worries that she doesn’t have the same enthusiasm for theatre that her husband does, and is turning more and more to religion to find comfort.

Bryan Cranston in Jon. S. Baird’s ‘Everything’s Going to Be Great’ Photo: Lionsgate.

I won’t spoil the big change that happens about a third of the way through the film, but it does at least spark some interesting, dramatic material for the characters, even the narrative doesn’t quite leave itself enough road to deal with everything effectively.

As director, Baird mostly stays out of the way of the performances; aside from the occasional drop in from deceased creative people who offer advice to Lester from the great beyond, it’s a largely straightforward movie, visually.

He does decent work coaxing good performances out of the younger cast in particular, but little stands out.

Cast and Performances

Allison Janney in Jon. S. Baird’s ‘Everything’s Going to Be Great’ Photo: Lionsgate.

As patriarch Buddy Smart, Cranston goes all in on the quirky, enthusiastic but humane theatre producer whose big Broadway dreams have been curtailed but whose spirit is undamped. It’s a fun performance, and he works well off of Janney and the two actors playing his sons. Even if his bushy mustache is doing half the work for him.

As Macy, Buddy’s slightly more tamped-down wife, Janney’s always good at finding nuance in a role such as this, and when Macy moves more into the spotlight, she brings some depth of feeling and extra comedy levels to the part.

Playing Lester Smart, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth has a few more levels to access, including the teen’s conflict between his theatrical side and the realities of young life in 1980s small-town America. He’s solid in the role and never showy, even when Lester chooses to be.

Jack Champion manages to stay away from most of the jock/big brother cliches, and finds a good vibe with Ainsworth for a convincing sibling dynamic.

Chris Cooper is fine as Macy’s brother, who the family has to move in with at one point, but he’s not given as much to do as he might.

Elsewhere, Simon Rex has a good supporting part as Kyle, an actor who starts working for Buddy and Macy but causes some friction within the family.

As for the ghostly visions of the likes of Tallulah Bankhead (Laura Benanti), Ruth Gordon (Chick Reid) and particularly Noël Coward (Mark Caven), they’re fine, but make little impact despite the talented people in the parts.

Final Thoughts

Jack Champion in Jon. S. Baird’s ‘Everything’s Going to Be Great’ Photo: Lionsgate.

While the movie is unlikely to burn up the box office or enter the cultural consciousness, ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’ is a decently funny and touching, if fairly slight, comedy drama.

A fine cast and some good moments don’t really add up to a truly memorable movie.

“(until then, act like it is)”

Showtimes & Tickets

There’s no business like show business — for Buddy and Macy Smart (Primetime Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston and Oscar® winner Allison Janney) that means an unpredictable… Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’?

As the Smart family wrestle with their over-sized dreams, they come to realize that the struggle to find your voice and your place in the world can happen no matter what stage of life you’re in.

Who is in the cast of ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’?

• Allison Janney as Macy Smart
• Bryan Cranston as Buddy Smart
• Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Lester Smart
• Jack Champion as Derrick Smart
• Chris Cooper as Walter
• Simon Rex as Kyle
• Jessica Clement as Selena Roach
• Mark Caven as Noël Coward
• Laura Benanti as Tallulah Bankhead

Poster for ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’. Photo: Lionsgate.

Other Movies and TV Shows Directed by Jon S. Baird:

Buy Tickets: ‘Everything’s Going to be Great’ Movie ShowtimesBuy Bryan Cranston Movies and TV on Amazon

TV Review: ‘The Waterfront’

by admin | Jun 20, 2025 | Articles, Moviephone Articles

‘The Waterfront receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.

Released on Netflix in one batch on June 19th, ‘The Waterfront’ is the latest TV product to roll off the prolific production line of ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’Kevin Williamson.

The cast for the new crime drama includes Holt McCallany (‘Mindhunter’), Maria Bello (‘A History of Violence’), Melissa Benoist (‘Supergirl’), Jake Weary (‘It Follows’) and Rafael L. Silva (‘9-1-1: Lone Star’).

Related Article: Original Writer Kevin Williamson Says the ‘Scream’ Franchise Should Pay Neve Campbell What She Wants to Return

Initial Thoughts

Maria Bello as Belle Buckley in episode 101 of ‘The Waterfront.’ Photo: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025.

Kevin Williamson knows how to create compelling TV shows. He has, after all, been doing it for years, stretching back to the days of ‘Wasteland’ and ‘Glory Days,’ scoring the chance to make series off the back of the success of his scripts for the early ‘Scream’ movies.

Now Netflix has opened its wallet to snap up his skills, and the result is a show that feels very much like a number of the crime dramas that the streaming service has looked to launch before and particularly since the success of Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’.

Yet something in this genre, which boasts so many tropes and traps, needs careful guidance, and ‘The Waterfront’ doesn’t exhibit much of that.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Melissa Benoist as Bree Buckley, Rafael Silva as Shawn West in episode 102 of ‘The Waterfront.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025.

The writing on ‘The Waterfront’ is perhaps its biggest issue. Given the sheer number of TV shows (and some movies) about families who have built their reputations with the appearance of respectability and power, only for criminal motives to lurk under the surface, there isn’t much new lurking here.

How many times must we watch a manly patriarch struggle to step from the shadow of his own father, confront enemies who are looking to take down his business or harm his family? Is there really a fresh way to tackle a troubled eldest son whose spirit doesn’t always seem to be in the actions that are necessary to keep the empire afloat, and who takes out his frustrations by cheating in his marriage?

And not forgetting –– if you’re keeping a bingo card handy –– the former addict daughter who has lost custody of her child and harbors deep resentments against those who turned her in?

A lot of what Williamson and his writers bring to the screen feels less like a fresh script and more like a mixed bag of expected concepts and well-trodden paths. But despite the odd tweak and here, nothing really works all that well.

Directorially, things are pretty straightforward, verging on bland too –– there are some beautiful backdrops and directors Erica Dunton, Liz Friedlander and Marcos Siega so at least have a talented cast to work with.

Cast and Performances

Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley in episode 102 of ‘The Waterfront.’ Photo: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025.

As fishing boat magnate/occasional drug runner Harlan Buckley, Holt McCallany can do this sort of role in his sleep, and given the script, you do sometimes wonder if he did. Yet he’s still got rugged charisma in the role, able to handle squaring off against opponents or dealing with his wayward family.

Maria Bello doesn’t always get as much to do as McCallany, but playing steel-spined matriarch Mae Buckley, she’s a good scene partner for him and also decent in one of her other storylines, where she discovers an unexpected addition to the family (oh yes, that old chestnut is rolled out yet again here).

As their daughter Bree, Melissa Benoist does what she can with the equally seen-it-before role of the struggling young woman dealing with her addiction demons and throwing herself into problematic relationships. She’s always good, but the Bree role just isn’t all that satisfying.

(L to R) Maria Bello as Belle Buckley, Danielle Campbell as Peyton, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in episode 102 of ‘The Waterfront.’ Photo: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025.

Jake Weary is distinctly average as Cane Buckley, the eldest son with his own issues. It’s not entirely the actor’s fault –– the role itself is slim and less than satisfying.

Around them there are the odd roles that pop: Topher Grace is having more fun than anyone else on screen as drug kingpin Grady, a man with an easy laugh and a yen for punishing those who try to cross him with a truck-mounted machine gun. He’s not in many episodes, but the show is better for his presence.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, Topher Grace as Grady in episode 104 of ‘The Waterfront.’ Photo: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025.

‘The Waterfront’ seems likely to sink beneath the sheer number of other, better output from Netflix and elsewhere (not least of which are the many ‘Yellowstone’ spin-offs), since it offers little in the way that makes it stand out.

If you’re a fan of the cast or the genre, it might be worth a look, but otherwise it’s mostly unremarkable.

“In this town, loyalty comes with a price.”

What’s the plot of ‘The Waterfront’?

For decades, the Buckley family has ruled Havenport, North Carolina, dominating everything from the local fishing industry to the town’s restaurant scene. But their fishing empire has started to crumble as patriarch Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) recovers from two heart attacks, and his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary) venture into the deep end to keep the family businesses afloat.

As their attempts spiral out of control and into treacherous waters, Harlan steps back in to take command. Facing her own demons, Buckley daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist) — an addict in recovery who’s lost custody of her son Diller (Brady Hepner) — finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship that could threaten the family’s future forever.

Who stars in ‘The Waterfront?

• Holt McCallany
• Maria Bello
• Melissa Benoist
• Jake Weary
• Brady Hepner
• Rafael L. Silva
• Danielle Campbell
• Topher Grace
• Michael Gaston

(L to R) Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, Maria Bello as Belle Buckley in episode 104 of ‘The Waterfront.’ Photo: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025.

Other Kevin Williamson Movies and TV Shows:

Buy Kevin Williamson Movies and TV on Amazon

Movie Review: ’28 Years Later’

by admin | Jun 18, 2025 | Articles, Moviephone Articles

’28 Years Later’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.

Opening in theaters on June 20 is ’28 Years Later,’ directed by Danny Boyle and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, and Jack O’Connell.

Related Article: Cillian Murphy Does Not Appear in ‘28 Years Later’ Producer Andrew Macdonald Confirms

Initial Thoughts

An infected in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.

Director Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later,’ released in 2003, gave a fresh new spark of life (pardon the expression) to the reanimated dead. Well, hold up: the rabid, frenzied, flesh-tearing creatures of Boyle’s groundbreaking film were not zombies risen from the grave, but living humans infected with a powerful bioweapon – nicknamed the Rage Virus – that turned them into fast-moving, savage, homicidal murderers within minutes.

Boyle’s overwhelmingly violent Infected (as they came to be called), the use of digital video cameras for maximum flexibility, the filming in real locations, and the emphasis on character – particularly Cillian Murphy’s Jim – all contributed to the movie’s success and its impact on the zombie subgenre of horror, no matter what Boyle called his monsters. ’28 Weeks Later,’ a lackluster sequel without the involvement of either Boyle or writer Alex Garland (later to write and direct ‘Ex Machina,’‘Civil War,’ and ‘Warfare’), followed five years later, and rumors have persisted ever since about a third movie – with Boyle allegedly interested in returning.

Now it’s happened: Boyle and Garland have returned respectively to direct and write ’28 Years Later,’ which – as the title confirms – takes place decades after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus. And true to form, the two filmmakers have once again crafted a horror epic that, while it may not feel as groundbreaking as the original, is incredibly intense, visceral, and atmospheric, while providing characters whose fates we come to care very much about.

Story and Direction

Director Danny Boyle for Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Anthony Ghnassia.

An opening card tells us that the Rage Virus was driven back from continental Europe but confined to the British mainland, with a strict quarantine in place and the survivors inside left to fend for themselves. Admittedly, there’s a rather large hole in the story here if you want to think about it: have there really been no attempts in nearly three decades to contact anyone living inside the quarantine zone, or find a way to rescue them? Perhaps Boyle and Garland are saying something about the transactional, indifferent relationship among nations now, in which a nation’s collapse leads others to push away as if they don’t want to get caught in its wake and pulled under with it, but it still sits there as a gap in the worldbuilding.

Otherwise that worldbuilding is largely well-handled. The bulk of the film takes place among the community of Holy Island, a thousand-acre patch floating off the coast and connected by a causeway. The community there is a rural, agrarian one, isolating themselves with heavy fortifications at the causeway entrance and the water around them doing the rest (their form of government is never quite explained, but they’re damn good at throwing drunken, almost ritualistic parties).

It’s here we meet 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams), his dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his mum Isla (Jodie Comer), as Spike prepares for a kind of rite of passage in which he and his dad will cross the causeway to the mainland so that Spike can kill his first Infected. Isla, however, is not completely on board with it, but can’t do much about it either: she is suffering from a malady that causes her great pain, mood disorders, and memory loss, and since Holy Island has no doctors there is no way to determine what is afflicting her.

(L to R) Director Danny Boyle with Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the set of Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Jamie and Spike’s trip to the mainland – the rules are that if they don’t come back, no one will go out to look for them – is not exactly a walk in the park. They’re pursued by both slow-moving Infected that have bloated into almost slug-like form and the fast-moving brand seen in the previous two movies, only now mostly filthy, naked, and barely recognizable as human. There are also “alphas,” leader-type Infected whose bodies have been expanded to strongman proportions by the Rage Virus and are, if anything, even more relentless and brutal than the regular flavor.

Spike makes his first kill, although he bungles the rest (“the more you kill, the easier it gets,” his dad offers helpfully), and learns that there is an insane man living further out in the land who may have once been a doctor. “There are strange people on the mainland,” Jamie warns, but after father and son return to Holy Island and a lavish celebration – during which Spike sees Jamie do something that is hurtful to the boy – Spike turns on his dad, smuggles Isla from the house, and secretly takes her to the mainland, where he hopes to locate the doctor, Ian Kelson, and see if he can make his mother well again.

All this plays out in a visual aesthetic that pays homage to the original film but enhances it. Boyle uses up to 20 iPhones to shoot some sequences, including a sort of version of “bullet time” for a number of the film’s very gory kills. Yet the film is also shot in an ultra-wide 2:76:1 ratio, giving it an expansive feel while retaining the intimacy of the original movie. The editing is quick, as in ’28 Days,’ and often choppy, mirroring the chaos of the world in which the story is set, while certain scenes – like Spike and Jamie’s frantic dash back on the causeway against a glittering star-filled sky – have a dark fairy tale patina to them.

(L to R) Jodie Comer and Director Danny Boyle on the set of Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are other sequences, some even in broad daylight with the backdrop of pristine green fields and mountains behind them, that border on nightmarish due to the frightening assault of the Infected at nearly every turn. There are moments of beauty as well, such as a late scene between Spike and Isla in the temple of bones glimpsed in the trailers. And there are bucketfuls of in-your-face gore as the Infected kill or are killed, with plenty of guts, gouts of blood, and decapitated heads on hand (not to mention one skin-crawling yet eventually poignant scene on an abandoned train) to firmly establish this new entry’s credentials for the zombie horror crowd.

But best of all, there is a great story behind it all, anchored by terrific characters like Jamie, Spike, Isla, and later, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes). Although the script can feel episodic and there are some shifts in tone here and there that don’t quite line up, the fate of these people and the ordeal they go through is riveting enough to carry the movie to an ending that some folks may find irritating (because it all but advertises the sequel, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ which is due out next January).

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Spike (Alfie Williams), Isla (Jodie Comer) and Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are three outstanding performances in ’28 Years Later.’ The first is by Alfie Williams, making his motion picture debut as Spike. This is really Spike’s story, a chronicle of his passage from brave but still nervous boy into a stronger, more resilient, more mature warrior, and Williams handles it with confidence, charisma, and a lack of standard child actor tricks.

Next is Jodie Comer, whose Isla takes more of a central role in the film’s second half as she and Spike venture onto the mainland. Her body and mind wracked by her illness, Isla is trying to break through the fog that envelops her even as her memories splinter and merge. The excellent Comer portrays all this with great empathy and a tragic nobility, showing us why she’s one of the best actors to emerge in recent years.

Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

And then there’s Ralph Fiennes, whose Dr. Kelson seems genuinely eccentric and bizarrely funny when we first meet him, but who deepens into a figure of great compassion and dignity even if he walks around coated in iodine (“the Rage Virus doesn’t like it at all,” he notes). Fiennes brings his effortless gravitas to a role that could have been a stock nutty survivalist but is instead imbued with humanity and grace. His bone temple is a “memento mori,” a remembrance of the dead, that has a stark beauty all its own, and Fiennes’ work reflects that.

As for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, he’s fine. Sturdy, fearless, rugged, Jamie is a pillar of the community, a loving but tough dad, and unfortunately a flawed man who loses the trust of his son. But the character is not as deeply portrayed as the others, and largely sits out the second half of the movie. The other notable player is Edvin Ryding as Erik, a Swedish soldier who gets trapped on the mainland and spends some time with Spike and Isla. Ryding provides some welcome comic relief as he describes modern conveniences in the outside world that Spike has no idea exist – and gets a big laugh when she shows Spike a photo of his cosmetically enhanced girlfriend, whose filler-boosted face remains Spike of a friend’s allergic reaction to shellfish.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his son Spike (Alfie Williams) being chased on the causeway in Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures. © 2024 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Like ’28 Days Later,’ and unlike, say, the socio-politically minded zombie films of George A. Romero, ’28 Years Later’ shies away from sociological or political themes. Yet there is something here about the way that societies crumble so quickly and yet take so long to reform, as well as the way in which humans can fall so rapidly into savagery. There are tantalizing questions raised about who or what else lives on the mainland, as well as what exactly is going on in the outside world, some of which will perhaps be answered in ‘The Bone Temple’ or a third film.

But what these films do continue to be about – aside from Boyle and Garland providing audiences with an intense, heart-pounding experience from start to finish – is the way in which individual human beings will strive to be kind and do good even among the most horrific of circumstances. Whether it’s in 28 days, 28 weeks, or 28 years, this is a message that bears repeating.

“In 28 days it began. In 28 weeks it spread. In 28 years it evolved.”

Showtimes & Tickets

Academy Award®-winning director Danny Boyle and Academy Award®-nominated writer Alex Garland reunite for 28 Years Later, a terrifying new story set in the world… Read the Plot

What is the plot of ’28 Years Later’?

It’s been almost three decades since the Rage Virus escaped a bioweapons laboratory, and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. When one of a group of survivors leaves their heavily defended island on a mission to the mainland, he discovers horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.

Who is in the cast of ’28 Years Later’?

• Jodie Comer as Isla
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie
• Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Ian Kelson
• Alfie Williams as Spike
• Christopher Fulford as Sam
• Edvin Ryding as Erik Sundqvist
• Chi Lewis-Parry as Samson
• Jack O’Connell as Sir Jimmy Crystal

Columbia Pictures’ ’28 Years Later’. Photo: Sony Pictures.

Movies Similar to ‘28 Years Later’:

Buy Tickets: ’28 Years Later’ Movie ShowtimesBuy Aaron Taylor-Johnson Movies on Amazon

Movie Review: ‘F1 The Movie’

by admin | Jun 17, 2025 | Articles, Moviephone Articles

‘F1 The Movie’ receives 10 out of 10 stars

‘F1 The Movie’ directed by Joseph Kosinski (‘Top Gun: Maverick’) opens in theaters on June 27, 2025. The film stars Brad Pitt (‘Fight Club’), Javier Bardem (‘No Country for Old Men’), Kerry Condon (‘The Banshee of Inisherin’), Tobias Menzies (‘Game of Thrones’) and Damson Idris (‘Outside the Wire’).

Initial Thoughts

A scene from Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Director Joseph Kosinski masterfully put together a dream team, both in front of and behind the camera, to deliver a perfectly orchestrated high octane thrill ride that is expertly choreographed. The movie will pull you in and have you at the edge of your seats with excitement and have viewers cheering along with the race fans in the film. With a heartwarming underdog story and plenty of laughs in between, both new and old Formula One race fans will be taken on an adrenaline ride full of excitement.

Story and Direction

Director/Producer Joseph Kosinski on the set of Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When the trailer for ‘F1 The Movie’ was released, it did an amazing job at building suspense, showing action packed moments and explaining the plot of the film. But in case you missed it, the film follows Sunny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a driver that is known as a bit of a reckless cowboy who never quite made it but appears to not have a care in the world, even if he is known as “the greatest that never was.” When Sunny’s old friend Ruben (Javier Bardem), a former driver turned team owner, is about to lose his team he turns to Sunny for help, offering him one last shot at being the best driver in the world. The pressure is on, and Sunny holds the fate of the entire team as well as the ego filled, up and coming driver and his Formula One teammate Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), in the palm of his hands. Keeping viewers in suspense all while waiting to discover if he will be able to save the team or if he will blow it all up to pieces.

When we meet Sunny he is leaving a race and seems to live moment to moment, without a care in the world, always heading to the next race. After deciding to join Ruben’s team, Sunny is the black sheep always moving to the beat of his own drum and not quite meshing with the extremely well-oiled pit and tech crew of the APXGP F1 team. Butting heads with the team’s technical director Kate (Kerry Condon), who has her own points to prove is fun to watch, but it’s the rival tension between Sunny and Joshua Pearce that becomes the driving force of what could make or break the fate of the entire F1 crew and the film itself.

A scene from Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Putting together the perfect crew of his own, Kosinski brings the same action-packed intensity he gave viewers with ‘Top Gun: Maverick” this time trading fighter jets for F1 cars and once again putting viewers directly in the driver’s seat. Working seamlessly with F1 creating an authentic experience for F1 fans, while also teaching a master class on F1 for viewers who don’t know anything about the sport was just one of the highlights of Kosinski’s excellent direction.

Taking a story about a team about to lose everything and carefully weaving the lives and careers of two drivers that couldn’t be more different is where the film builds an entirely different sort of tension and experience that every movie fan will utterly enjoy. Each morsel of information or backstory given feeling as if it was earned by trust, making you feel as if you are part of the process, like a gift from the film to its viewer.

But it is in the third act of the film that Kosinski’s craft of perfection is truly shown to its fullest. Taking powerful and action-packed adrenaline-fueled driving sequences and carefully sewing them between emotionally driven heart tugging moments that will keep viewers at the edge of their seats with bated breath. Putting both Brad Pitt and Damson Idris in the drivers seat of an actual Formula One car at 200 MPH, may have been a risk, but the payoff was the reward of once again delivering audiences both extraordinary action sequences with an authentic and visceral F1 experience.

Performances

(L to R) Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce and Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Brad Pitt gives a brilliant performance as Sunny Hayes, he is the perfect fit as the icon, the rough and tumble cowboy driver who has nothing and everything to lose. Pitt has been known for his love of both driving and speed over the years and looks completely comfortable in the driver’s seat even at top speeds. His performance in the final sequence of the film is what had the potential to make or break the film as a whole, and he met it with passion and brilliance that left a long lasting impression.

Damson Idris nails the cocky and arrogant, while still wet behind the ear’s teammate Joshua Pearce. He brought emotion and depth to an extremely layered character and held his own in every scene. Kerry Condon was perfection as the team’s first female technical director who’s lost her confidence and feels like she has something to prove. And the scenes of her character sparring with Pitts character were always enjoyable.

But there is something about Javier Bardem’s performance that to me ties everything together on an emotional level in the end that stands out on its own and should be applauded. Because in the end it’s all about the love of driving.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes and Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When you think about what they did to achieve the authenticity of this film it is absolutely extraordinary. They took an idea and a story and to make that a reality they quite literally embedded an entire film crew into a F1 season on every track, in every country all while maintaining the integrity of a sport. They put actors in F1 cars at top speeds alongside F1 drivers and crews, with F1 fans in the stands. All to give viewers the ride of their lives. They took shots in minutes that most movies take a day just to set up. The sheer magnitude of that alone should have movie fans everywhere lining up to see this film on the big screen.

Kosinski alongside producer Jerry Bruckheimer (‘Top Gun: Maverick’) and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton took every vital step and then some to give audiences the most authentic and what Pitt calls “the most visceral driving experience that’s ever been put on film.” With an almost nostalgic feel of the best action movies of the 80’s and 90’s paired with an incredible and at times heart pumping score from Hans Zimmer paced perfectly in every scene, ‘F1 The Movie’ is everything I want in a movie going experience and should be experienced in the theatre.

Showtimes & Tickets

Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at… Read the Plot

What is the plot of ‘F1”?

Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s, has a horrible crash, forcing him to retire from Formula One and start racing in other disciplines. A Formula One team owner and friend, Ruben (Javier Bardem), contacts Hayes and asks him to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua “Noah” Pearce (Damson Idris) for the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).

Who is in the cast of ‘F1 The Movie’?

Director/Producer Joseph Kosinski on the set of Apple Original Films’ ‘F1,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

List of Joseph Kosinski Movies:

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TV Review: ‘FUBAR’ Season 2

by admin | Jun 14, 2025 | Articles, Moviephone Articles

‘FUBAR’ Season 2 receives 7 out of 10 stars.

Released on Netflix on June 12th, ‘FUBAR’ Season 2 gets us back in action with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Luke Brunner for another blend of spy thrills and comedy.

The cast also includes Monica Barbaro (‘A Complete Unknown’), Fortune Feimster (‘Barb & Star go to Vista Del Mar’), Travis Van Winkle (‘Road House’), Jay Baruchel (‘BlackBerry’), Scott Thompson (‘Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy’) and, new this season, Carrie-Anne Moss (‘The Matrix’) and Guy Burnet (‘Oppenheimer’).

Related Article: ‘FUBAR’ Forefronts an Entertaining Arnold Schwarzenegger Surrounded by a Funny, Likeable Cast

Initial Thoughts

Carrie-Anne Moss as Greta Nelso in episode 203 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

If you’re craving some Arnold Schwarzenegger action, but don’t want to dive into some of the dodgier straight-to-home-entertainment movies he’s made of late, the return of ‘FUBAR’ might satisfy you.

We says “might,” as this is very much a Your Mileage May Vary series –– if your tolerance for Schwarzenegger taking stabs at being funny and a narrative that puts laughs over stunts (though there are still some impressive moments) –– isn’t all that high, then this might not be the show for you.

Script and Direction

(L to R) Fortune Feimster as Roo Russell, Travis Van Winkle as Aldon Reece in episode 201 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2025

‘FUBAR’ was created and is run by Nick Santora, who has had a hand in shows such as network procedural offering ‘Scorpion’ and Prime Video’s ‘Reacher.’ He certainly knows a thing or two about how to make funny live alongside spy material or vigilante action, but with ‘FUBAR,’ he’s created a delivery system for two things: Schwarzenegger channeling his past career and workplace comedy that just happens to feature big threats as part of its DNA.

For the most part, the scripts walk the line between the two on an effective level, helped by the cast. The show is never going to be the funniest or most action-packed out there, but if you’ve enjoyed its charms in the past, Season 2 certainly keeps up the same quality level.

(L to R) Fabiana Udenio as Tally Brunner, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Luke Brunner in episode 201 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2025

Shoving the characters together in a safe house for a couple of episodes gives plenty of material for them clashing comically with each other, and several finding creative ways to get out and pursue their interests (see Monica Barbaro’s Emma dominating local paintball tournaments) is good for chuckle.

Once the major plot kicks back in again, the show returns to what worked about the first season, and for the most part it’s entertaining.

On the directorial front, the limitations of even a Netflix budget (and we’re certainly not talking money on the level of, say, ‘Stranger Things’ here), do sometimes shine through, but directors Phil Abraham and Jeff T. Thomas make the most of what they have.

Cast and Performances

Monica Barbaro as Emma Brunner in episode 204 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

Let’s be honest here: Arnie is Arnie. He’s a movie star whose best days are perhaps behind him, but he certainly throws himself into all aspects of the series. He’s not afraid to make fun of himself and his back catalogue and while he can’t quite do everything he once did on the stunt front, he’s convincing enough with the help of a team.

It’s also clear he’s having fun here, chomping on cigars, getting to interact with the rest of the cast and generally nodding towards past glories.

As Emma, Monica Barbaro continues to be among the highlights, balancing a light comic tone with committed action chops. She’s equally adept playing farcical moment with the likes of Jay Baruchel as she is looking like a badass when called upon.

Fortune Feimster, Milan Carter and Travis Van Winkle are still worth watching as Luke Brenner’s support team and surrogate family Roo, Barry and Aldon, and while Milan Carter is somewhat sidelined this year, he still gets some fun moments.

Jay Baruchel, even more than Carter, comes off worse this time around –– not because of his performance, which is still giddily entertaining, but because his character, Emma’s former fiancé, simply doesn’t have as much to do any more.

Still stealing scenes every time he’s in them is Scott Thompson as Dr. Pfeffer –– he’s a delight, and fans of the first season will be happy to know his puppet obsession is undimmed.

Guy Burnet as Theodore Chips in episode 202 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Dušan Martinček/Netflix © 2025

The new recruits for this season include Carrie-Anne Moss, who clearly relishes playing Luke’s former flame and a master spy in her own right, Greta Nelso. She goes full femme fatale, and plays well off of Schwarzenegger.

Finally, there’s Guy Burnet as Theodore Chips, a James Bond riff whose character pivots between hero and villain. Burnet is excellent in the role, whether he’s trying to flirt with Emma or threatening the team.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Travis Van Winkle as Aldon Reece, Guy Burnet as Theodore Chips in episode 206 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2025

‘FUBAR’ certainly has niche appeal, but what it does, it does well, delivering Arnie puns, some level of spy craft and plenty of silly moments (Van Winkle and a pig are a particular highlight.

That’s it and that’s all. But hopefully this won’t be it and all for the show.

“Heroes don’t retire. They reload.”

What’s the plot of ‘FUBAR?

The initial season of the series follows Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Luke Brunner, a CIA operative with a knack for inventively taking down bad guys and a venerable reputation at the agency.

But Luke, long since realizing the toll his job and its need for total secrecy had on his family –– he’s been divorced from wife Tally (Fabiana Udenio) for nearly 20 years –– is ready to retire. He plans to win his wife back and properly reconnect with his grown children, especially Emma (Monica Barbaro).

Before he can really call it quits, though, he’s informed that Boro (Gabriel Luna), the son of a terrorist Luke dispatched years ago while working undercover, has resurfaced and is aiming to relaunch his father’s dangerous organization with even more vehemence.

Season 2 picks up with Brunner, Emma and their family, friends and colleagues going stir crazy in a safe house. But then Luke learns that not only has old flame Greta Nelso returned, but there’s a new threat out there –– and he’s the only one who can stop it.

“Heroes don’t retire. They reload.”

Who stars in ‘FUBAR’ Season 2?

• Arnold Schwarzenegger as Luke Brunner
• Monica Barbaro as Emma Brunner
• Fortune Feimster as Roo
• Travis Van Winkle as Aldon Reese
• Aparna Brielle as Tina Mukerji
• Fabiana Udenio as Tally Brunner
• Jay Baruchel as Carter
• Milan Carter as Barry Putt
• Scott Thompson as Dr. Pfeffer
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Greta Nelso
• Guy Burnet as Theodore Chips

(L t R) Jay Baruchel as Carter Perlmutter, Milan Carter as Barry Putt, Fabiana Udenio as Tally Brunner in episode 203 of ‘Fubar.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025

Selected Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies:

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Movie Review: ‘Materialists’

by admin | Jun 13, 2025 | Articles, Moviephone Articles

‘Materialists’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.

Opening in theaters June 13 is ‘Materialists,’ directed by Celine Song and starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, Zoë Winters, Marin Ireland, Dasha Nekrasova, Louisa Jacobson, and John Magaro.

Related Article: Chris Evans in Talks to Return to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Initial Thoughts

(L to R) Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal in ‘Materialists’. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima.

If you’re going into ‘Materialists’ thinking that this will be something of a traditional romantic comedy, think again. While the trailers may sort of sell it that way, ‘Materialists’ is quite different and deeper. Written and directed by Celine Song, whose 2023 debut ‘Past Lives’ was a melancholy exploration of memory and lost love, ‘Materialists’ looks at dating, romance, and love through the lens of a transactional society.

At its most basic level, ‘Materialists’ has a romantic triangle at its heart. But that three-way relationship is seen as a numbers game, with Song deftly outlining how cold logic and math can lead – if the participants are lucky – to some semblance of happiness, while also opening the door to disaster. The film is also an intimate, detailed character study of the three people at its center, how they perceive themselves, and how they perceive each other. While it wobbles a bit down the stretch, ‘Materialists’ is an emotionally resonant, culturally relevant look at how and why we expose ourselves to love, and the danger of treating people – especially women – as commodities.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Director Celine Song, Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans on the set of ‘Materialists’. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima.

Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a professional matchmaker, working with well-off, usually older clients – both male and female – to help them find the perfect person with whom to fall in love. But many of Lucy’s clients have stringent or unrealistic expectations: the women are looking for a six-foot-tall man with a six-figure (at least) income, while the men don’t want anything too “intense or complicated.” As one man says, he doesn’t have much in common with women in their early twenties…so he wants to date women in their late twenties.

As for Lucy, she’s a self-described “voluntary celibate” who has broken up with her boyfriend John (Chris Evans) after five years. John, an unemployed actor, works as a cater-waiter to make ends meet and shares his crummy Manhattan apartment with two sloppy roommates. Having grown up poor and trying to pursue her own career, Lucy does not wish to live that way: she wants to be comfortable and taken care of, and sees marrying into wealth as the only way to achieve that – or so she thinks.

That’s why the matchmaking service she provides breaks love down to “checking boxes” on a list: the candidate’s age, height, salary, job, and even the state of their hair are all factored into the equation without a thought of whether these two strangers can connect in a more intimate, personal way. “Marriage is a business deal,” Lucy tells one of her clients who’s about to take the final step of walking down the aisle. “You can always walk away if the deal is no good.”

Dakota Johnson in ‘Materialists’. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima.

All of this is transactional for Lucy, so when she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal) at that same wedding, who she describes as a unicorn for seemingly checking off all her boxes effortlessly, she decides to begin dating him after he asks her out – even though she insists he can do better. And even though she and John are no more, he’s still in her life as a friend (who is also clearly pining for her). Lucy begins to wonder just what she does want out of a relationship – as her carefully structured philosophy about dating and romance begins to unravel around her.

Aside from a third-act plot turn that might have been handled a little more smoothly, ‘Materialists’ is top-notch storytelling about modern relationships and love – and how even those most precious aspects of human life can be somehow stripped down to, as Lucy says, a business deal. It’s only when she gets into a potentially lucrative deal of her own in that sense that she begins to realize what a shallow worldview that is, and how the same approach to her job may end in misery for her clients – and in the case of women, even danger.

Song’s script cleanly delivers all this through a spare, modest, yet impactful narrative and deftly rendered characterizations, filtered through lovely lensing of the movie’s New York locations by cinematographer Shabier Kirchner. In the end, the movie is a pointed critique of the society we’re living in now: where everyone thinks they’re entitled to everything, and you don’t have to work for it — even love.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans in ‘Materialists’. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima.

Coming off the embarrassment of 2024’s ‘Madame Web,’ Dakota Johnson bounces back nicely here with perhaps the best performance of her career to date. Lucy is a complex, finely-drawn single woman in her mid-30s who has grown up poor and is deeply afraid of falling back into that situation, which has led her to not just view her own romantic life in a clinical way but boil her services as a matchmaker down to cold equations. Johnson does an excellent job of putting up Lucy’s armor, only to gradually show us the pain and doubt beneath.

The same could be said for Chris Evans – while his choices since exiting the role of Captain America have been hit and miss, ‘Materialists’ also represents his best work since putting down the shield. John is acutely aware of his circumstances, his lack of motivation, and his own deep desire for love and connection, and blames himself for letting Lucy get away. His own pain at seeing her is evident from the start, but he’s also desperate to maintain their connection by being the best friend he can be. This is a sensitive turn from Evans, who can be a come across as all surface with the wrong material, and demonstrates his underrated ability to portray vulnerability.

Pedro Pascal’s Harry is a bit less layered and defined than either Lucy or John, although he avoids stereotyping by being an incredibly wealthy man who does not see others around him as playthings – even when he reveals something about himself late in the game. Pascal is empathetic and charismatic as always. The other star player of the film is Zoë Winters (‘Succession’) as Lucy’s client Sophie, who delivers a monologue late in the film that is raw and just devastating, a cry of anger and frustration that will resonate with many single women of a certain age. The actor just nails it in a showstopper of a moment.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal in ‘Materialists’. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima.

Don’t get us wrong: ‘Materialists’ is not a somber meditation on late-stage capitalism infecting every aspect of our lives. It’s not somber, anyway. It’s funny, witty, and yes, melancholy, and it also doesn’t shy away from pointedly critiquing how the commodification of the most basic, wonderful, and complex of all human interactions is inherently not a good thing.

In other words, it’s not “just math,” despite what Lucy says early in the film. And ‘Materialists’ is not just, as we said early on in this review, a standard rom-com or even a typical romantic drama. It’s a movie with something far deeper on its mind, and Celine Song once again explores the intricacies of the human heart with candor and clarity, making this possibly one of the best movies made for adults that you’ll see this year.

“Some people just want more.”

Showtimes & Tickets

A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex. Read the Plot

What is the plot of ‘Materialists’?

A young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Who is in the cast of ‘Materialists’?

• Dakota Johnson as Lucy
• Chris Evans as John
• Pedro Pascal as Harry Castillo
• Zoë Winters as Sophie
• Marin Ireland as Violet
• Dasha Nekrasova as Daisy
• Louisa Jacobson as Charlotte
• Sawyer Spielberg as Mason
• Eddie Cahill as Robert
• Joseph Lee as Trevor
• John Magaro as Mark P.

Dakota Johnson in ‘Materialists’. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima.

List of Movies Starring Dakota Johnson:

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