Freeze Frame

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 dangers of greed, passion and ambition. The animated horror comedy "Stitch Head" is aimed squarely at the kindergarten crowd. It’s about the monstrous creations of a mad scientist who are more scared of humans than vice versa. “Stitch Head” is reasonably well animated, but the weak storyline blunts its overall appeal. The devastating Netflix documentary "The Perfect Neighbor" is both enlightening and heartbreaking. Told mostly through footage from police body cams, it depicts the events leading up to a tragic and utterly senseless murder. It’s sharply edited and skillfully executed. Smoldering racism and convoluted gun laws are exposed in “The Perfect Neighbor, a thoughtful, disturbing and timely social document. Ethan Hawke gives an impressive performance in Richard Linklater’s melancholy “Blue Moon,” a talky drama about famed Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart whose alcoholism and emotional troubles ruined his successful collaboration with composer Richard Rodgers. The whole movie takes place at Broadway’s famed Sardi’s restaurant, when Hart’s life seemed to unravel on the opening night of Rodgers’ biggest hit “Oklahoma!” with his new partner, Oscar Hammerstein. “Blue Moon” is a creative bit of speculation that will appeal mostly to fans of musical theater.

"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 manipulative, so many viewers will feel like they've been jerked around. However, fans of Colleen Hoover, known as "Cohorts," will get exactly what they want in “Regretting You.” Everyone else, beware. The Hulu entry "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is a remake and update of a hit thriller from 1992. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a wealthy suburban mom who hires a nanny, played by Maika Monroe, who lies about her past and, as it turns out, has a long-standing grudge against the mom. Slowly but surely, all heck breaks loose. You can't blame the talented cast, but this awkward version is saddled with implausible twists and is just a shadow of the original. The Apple TV+ documentary "Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost" is a comprehensive, warts-and-all look at the late comedy duo directed by their son, Ben Stiller. The duo achieved fame with their appearances on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” and worked their own marital angst into their routines. As it turns out, Jerry Stiller taped and saved everything in both his public and private life, giving Ben a mountain of material to sort through. Ben discovers some uncomfortable parallels between his parents' struggles and his own. It's a thoughtful showbiz time capsule.

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 films like “Call Me by Your Name” and “Challengers,” but he’s lost his grip here. Colossally pretentious, burdened with pompous dialogue and unlikable characters, it’s a burden to watch. The terrific performances are the only saving grace of “After the Hunt,” so viewers should hunt for something else to watch. Writer/director/star Aziz Ansari offers a low-key, feel-good comic fantasy, "Good Fortune." Keanu Reeves is an inept guardian angel who switches up the lives of a struggling gig worker, played by Ansari, and a wealthy investor, played by Seth Rogan, to try to make Ansari feel better about his life. Big mistake! Ansari likes being rich and doesn’t want to return to his old life, even though he had a great girlfriend, played by Keke Palmer. Good Fortune” is a likable comedy that tries to be a modern take on a Frank Capra-style premise but is only modestly successful. The Netflix drama "Ballad of a Small Player" is an intriguing experiment that doesn't quite live up to its promise. Colin Farrell is fine as a deeply indebted gambling addict in Macau who desperately strives for one big win to save him. The shifts between the real and the imagined are sometimes awkward and confusing. Even so, “Ballad of a Small Player” is a stylish look at the descent of a loser.

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. “Roofman” was directed by Derek Cianfrance, best known for the dark dramas “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines.” Here, he takes a much lighter approach. Funny and often touching, "Roofman" is a surprisingly effective crowd-pleaser. The white-knuckle thriller "A House of Dynamite" is in theaters today and will appear on Netflix on October 24th. It explores what would happen if an unknown entity launched a nuclear missile at the US. Under the sure-handed direction of Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, it's a taut and realistic nightmare that effectively shows the chaos such an event would cause. It strives for authenticity, but having well-known actors in the cast is a bit of a distraction in “The House of Dynamite,” and the multiple, intersecting storylines muddy what is otherwise a sharp, well-constructed nail-biter. A terrific cast led by Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson can't quite save the derivative tongue-in-cheek horror-thriller "Shell," now available on multiple pay-per-view outlets. "Shell" owes a bit too much to last year's similar body horror entry, "The Substance." A struggling actress tries a mysterious and shady new scientific method for beauty and youth, but guess what, there are...complications. "Shell" is trying to be a black comedy, but the humor seldom lands.

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-life MMA fighters Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten and former heavyweight champion boxer Oleksander Usyk bring additional authenticity. The stars are fine, but in an attempt to avoid cliches, the movie also avoids dramatic momentum. This low-key, matter-of-fact approach prevents "The Smashing Machine" from scoring a knockout. A true story from California's devastating 2018 Camp Fire is the basis of the Apple TV+ thriller, "The Lost Bus." Matthew McConaughey stars as a troubled school bus driver who attempts to navigate the overwhelming blaze and save the lives of two dozen kids and a teacher, played by America Ferrera. Director Paul Greengrass, best known for the Jason Bourne films, knows how to build tension. With “The Lost Bus,” he’s created a realistic and involving nail-biter. In the tongue-in-cheek Amazon Prime crime thriller "Play Dirty," Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, the gifted professional thief from Richard Stark's novel series. What may have worked on the page seems overblown and ludicrous on screen under the direction of action filmmaker Shane Black. After a racetrack heist goes bad, Parker recruits a band of thieves to steal some priceless antiquities and exact revenge on the woman who ruined his previous caper. A good cast is wasted in a bloody, noisy, profane and utterly preposterous crime opus.

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. Smart and masterfully made, "One Battle After Another” easily one of the year's best movies. Parents with preschool girls know that "Gabby's Dollhouse" is the partly live-action, partly animated Netflix series about a girl who shrinks herself to doll size for adventures with her tiny doll pals. The theatrical version "Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie" works surprisingly well thanks to imaginative art direction and a funny performance by Kristen Wiig as a cat-obsessed villainess. While squarely aimed at the tots, it's pleasantly painless for parents. The dark action thriller "Dead of Winter" stars Emma Thompson as a woman ice fishing in remote Minnesota who stumbles upon a ramshackle cabin where a strange couple have kidnapped a young woman. It's so well acted that one can almost forgive how unrelentingly grim it is. “Dead of Winter” is suspenseful but mostly unpleasant and implausible. With her directorial debut, Scarlett Johansson shows she’s been paying attention. Ninety-five-year-old June Squibb stars in the touching story of a woman who pretends to be a Holocaust survivor, befriending a teenager enamored with her and her bogus story. Squibb and young Erin Kellyman are excellent in “Eleanor the Great,” a sweet-natured comic drama about the results of questionable choices.

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, Beautiful Journey” can't quite overcome some uneasy, saccharine elements. Don't be fooled by the name Jordan Peele above the title for the horror movie "HIM." He produced but did not write or direct this ugly and dull one-note chiller about a wannabe quarterback, played by Tariq Withers, who is lured into a Satanic cult led by Marlon Wayans to ensure he becomes the "GOAT." It's odd that a movie about football has no forward momentum. “HIM” fumbles an interesting premise. "Xeno" is an offbeat sci-fi tale that plays like an uneasy mix of the family friendly "ET" and the grisly "Alien." A troubled teenage girl befriends a stranded carnivorous space creature, but the bad guys are the government agencies hunting it. While it's reasonably well made, "Xeno" has a frustrating finale that will likely leave audiences underwhelmed. The Hulu drama "Swiped" purports to tell the true story behind the scandalous rise of dating apps "Tinder" and "Bumble." Lily James plays Whitney Wolfe Herd, the tech entrepreneur who experienced blatant sexism and misogyny as she helped establish the popular sites and wound up being exploited in the press. "Swiped" could have used a bit more bite, but it's an interesting historical nugget.

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 of others from the original movie. The sequel never quite hits the hilarious heights of the original, so it doesn’t go quite to 11. Still, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is an enjoyably goofy dip into satiric nostalgia. "The Conjuring: Last Rites" is the ninth and supposedly final chapter in "The Conjuring" franchise. We'll see. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back as famed paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren in what is touted as a true story of demonic possession. Right. Fans of the franchise may want to indulge once again, but it's overlong, poorly paced and plays like a hodgepodge of scenes from the previous movies. The cast is right, but "The Last Rites" is wrong. The HBO Max documentary "Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television" is an enlightening overview of the ups and downs experienced by African American artists over the last 75 years. It’s produced by Issa Rae. The first episode of the two-part series is excellent, an involving and entertaining history lesson. The second part, dealing with more recent history, tends to meander and goes a bit off-subject. Overall, “Seen & Heard” is still a timely and provocative examination of ongoing inequality.

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.