Jaicy Elliot and Rafael de la Fuente are some of the hottest stars at Hallmark and they are celebrating their latest film, “Love on the Amazon”, which premiere 1/17/26 at 8pm EST. The duo took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about the movie and what it was like filming in the real Amazon.

Here is the premise from the film “Claire travels to Brazil and hires Danny, a riverboat captain, to help her deliver an important message for her sister Amelia, a marine biologist studying pink dolphins on the Amazon River.”

Here is our interview with the stars:

Here is a trailer for the film:

Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin and Park Hee-son
Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Rated: R
Running Time: 139 minutes
Neon

Our Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is living the good life, or at least the upper-middle-class representation of it. He has a roof over his head, his childhood home no less, a homemaker wife (Son Ye-jin), and two kids who have the freedom to explore their hobbies. His steady job at a paper company keeps everything humming. That’s why it stings when Man-su informs his family that the company has been bought out by Americans and he’s officially on the chopping block. But he’s determined. Determined to get another paper job. Determined to provide. Determined because, in his head, he’s the best at papermaking, almost like a South Korean Dwight Schrute.

A year later, that determination dissolves into humiliation. The family is pinching pennies. Hobbies are no longer affordable. And during an interview, Man-su is told bluntly and cruelly that he’s too old and too inferior to get back into the game. It’s here that Man-su decides to change tactics. The adaptation he chooses, however, involves murder.

What’s compelling is who Man-su decides needs to die for him to return to his former life. His choices reflect a broader working-class crisis: instead of blaming the systemic forces that push us down, we’re encouraged to blame each other, an eerie representation of our current climate where we second guess and distrust our neighbor, immigrant, or that slightly more valued coworker. “No Other Choice” is full of these digs at capitalism, and they land harder because they’re not delivered as sermons, but as survival logic.

Tonally, the film balances the bleakness with a surprising layer of absurd comedy. There’s a Looney Tunes quality to the murder attempts and the prior plotting. It’s inept, overcomplicated, and occasionally slapstick in a way that even Wile E. Coyote would diagnose as poor engineering. The misunderstandings and bursts of rage sometimes flirt with soap opera parody, but Park Chan-wook never lets the humor overwhelm the dread. It’s just enough to keep us breathing while Man-su makes things increasingly worse for himself.

Man-su lives by capitalism’s favorite rule: survival of the fittest. But in his mind, being “fit” means returning to the comfort he once reached. He craves the house, the status, the security, and the feeling that life finally makes sense. It’s not greed, exactly. He’s not looking to kill his way up the corporate ladder to become CEO. It’s the horror of losing something you were told you deserved, whether through indirect pressure, upbringing, societal standards, etc.

On the surface, “No Other Choice” feels predictable: the arc is clear, the anti-capitalist critique is worn openly, and the runtime lets you marinate in it a touch too long. But that roughness becomes sharper because of the comedy. Without the absurdity, the film’s obviousness would dull its knives. With it, the absurdity becomes the point. We’re looking in the mirror and wondering why we’ve allowed ourselves to reach this point.

Comparisons to “Parasite” are inevitable for American audiences, and while “No Other Choice” doesn’t reach those same highs, it distinguishes itself in what it finds tragic. “Parasite” is about clawing and scrounging upwards into the comfort zone, even if it’s fleeting and brief. “No Other Choice” is about what happens when you live and adapt to that comfort zone, only for a single economic decision to kick you back out. Where “Parasite” wastes no seconds, “No Other Choice” occasionally feels like it needs the runtime of a comedy. “No Other Choice” might have weasled its way into my favorite films of the year if it was shorter, punchier, meaner.

Even so, the film lingers. It’s funny, but it’s the kind of funny that gives the working-class viewer a pit in their stomach. It’s a pit that whispers, in a very real way, that absurd solutions begin with realistic scenarios. And that’s a feeling Americans, and apparently South Koreans, know all too well right now.

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell and Ralfie Williams
Directed by: Nia DaCosta
Rated: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Sony Pictures Releasing

Our Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

In my review of “28 Years Later,” I noted that the film needed “Bone Temple” to really understand what Alex Garland was aiming for. I still don’t fully know, but this film offers a lot more to chew on. Picking up right where the prior film ended, we learn that the soccer-hooligan-looking “Warriors” gang is actually a Satanist cult (I wasn’t expecting that either). Led by Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), they force Spike (Alfie Williams), the lead of the prior film, into a ritual built around the simple principle of kill or be killed. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), creator of the titular bone temple, begins to bond with the infected Alpha from the previous film, whom he names Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Again, I wasn’t expecting that either. These two threads converge in what I can only describe, without spoilers, as the greatest use of an Iron Maiden song on film.

What fascinates me about these new “28 Years Later” entries is the way Garland keeps trying to deconstruct the zombie genre the same way “28 Days Later” detonated it two decades ago. This time, Nia DaCosta is the one corralling his ideas, and the tonal shift is noticeable. The editing isn’t a gore-splattered machine gun over London backwoods; DaCosta brings more humanity without imitating Danny Boyle, making the film more watchable without defanging it.

What’s most surprising is that “Bone Temple” behaves like a counter-middle chapter. Yes, it’s technically the fourth film, but “28 Years Later” is being shaped as a trilogy. And instead of going darker, “Bone Temple” goes more hopeful. Spike’s path pulls him deeper into Jimmy Crystal’s orbit, where apocalypse becomes an opportunity for domination. On the other end, Dr. Kelson humanizes the infected, believing empathy might be the only way out of hell. Fiennes has a blast playing a loner who decides to befriend the most lethal cannibal alive. Together, these arcs reduce the apocalypse to two pathways: brutal control or stubborn compassion.

If that sounds simplistic, it’s deliberately so. Garland has always flirted with the big themes, militarism, pandemics, survivalism, etc., but here the real axis is science vs. religion. Kelson embodies the scientific impulse, acknowledging science’s role in creating the nightmare while believing it is also the way out. Crystal embodies faith. He believes faith is why the world has crumbled like tissue paper and he has adorned himself as a messiah figure to lead the way. Even at the end of the world, the two remain in conflict, and religion happily weaponizes science when it serves its power.

All of this leaves a single question: where do we go in the final film? After “28 Weeks Later” jammed conflicting themes and styles together, “Bone Temple” gives the series a breather. It’s still bloody and bizarre, but it’s also personal and weirdly optimistic. For the first time in the franchise, perception becomes the enemy. That makes Garland’s landing in the final film that much harder.

When it comes to crime drama series, you just immediately think about Law & Order. This show started it all. It was the biggest of all of them too running 20 seasons long over more than a decade. I mean don’t pick up this complete series unless you have A LOT of time on your hands. This DVD set includes over 345 hours of content, delivered with an Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track. If you are a fan of this show it is a must have for sure.

The Emmy® Award-winning series Law & Order is one of the longest-running crime series of all time. Law & Order: The Complete Original Series captures every powerful episode from the first 20 seasons.   Dick Wolf ‘s primetime series covered the dedicated New York City police who investigated crimes and the district attorneys who prosecuted the offenders. Known for its hard-hitting, ripped-from-the-headlines style, the series showcased the talents of numerous illustrious stars from stage, film, and television.   Rediscover Law & Order’s intelligent writing and the riveting acting that inspired a brand of successful dramas that continues to captivate audiences around the globe.

This DVD set doesn’t stop at just 20 seasons of television, it also includes a ton a special features including deleted and extended scenes, cast profiles, a set tour, crossover episodes and more. There are profiles on Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin and Fred Dalton Thompson. There is an interview with Park Dietz. The crossover episodes are from Homicide: Life on the Street and lastly there are two featurettes including “The Creation of Law & Order” and “Law & Order: The First Three Years”. Great extras for a great release. Highly recommended!

Let’s start this off with, I am not a fan of Jason Sudeikis at all. I think he is incredibly overrated and that this show is nothing special at all. I know people love it and say its so great but I never caught on. This 4K release isn’t anything special either, in fact it is kind of disappointing. Besides Warner Bros.’ 2160p/HDR10/Dolby Vision transfer, which is clean and doesn’t give any issues. It is a good upgrade from the previous Blu-ray release.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is honestly disappointing since Warner Bros. didn’t give us the same Dolby Atmos audio like it was presented on Apple TV+. This eight disc set is differently packed than the Blu-ray. Season 2 is spread over three discs rather than two. Sadly, though, there are no bonus features  included again here and there is no poster either from the earlier set. This is really a let down due to the price and topped with the lazy 5.1 audio, this release doesn’t score a goal.

Season One – Discs 1-2
“Pilot”, “Biscuits”, “Trent Crimm: The Independent”, “For the Children”, “Tan Lines”, “Two Aces”, “Make Rebecca Great Again”, “The Diamond Dogs”, “All Apologies”, ” The Hope That Kills You”

Season Two – Discs 3-5
“Goodbye Earl”, “Lavender”, “Do the Right-est Thing”, “Carol of the Bells”, “Rainbow”, “The Signal”, “Headspace”, “Man City”, “Beard After Hours”, “No Weddings and a Funeral”, “Midnight Train to Royston”, “Inverting the Pyramid of Success”

Season Three – Discs 6-8
“Smells Like Mean Spirit”, “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea”, “4-5-1”, “Big Week”, “Signs”, “Sunflowers”, “The Strings That Bind Us”, “We’ll Never Have Paris”, “La Locker Room Aux Folles”, “International Break”, “Mom City”, “So Long, Farewell”

GIBSON FILMS
LAUNCHES 2026 MUSIC DOCUSERIES
“IOMMI: THE GODFATHER OF HEAVY METAL”
VOLUME ONE PREMIERES WORLDWIDE TODAY

WATCH HERE

Featuring Interviews with Tony Iommi, Brian May, SLASH, Zakk Wylde, Yungblud, and more

Click on the image to play Volume One “Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal,” the new limited docuseries from Gibson Films, streaming now on Gibson TV.

Watch/share Volume One “Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal” HERE.

NASHVILLE, TN – Gibson Films—the storytelling studio from Gibson dedicated to original, artist-driven content that celebrates music history, culture, and the instruments that shape sound—proudly announces the worldwide premiere of Volume One of its new limited music docuseries, Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal, streaming exclusively via Gibson TV throughout 2026. Watch the global premiere of Volume One—the first installment of the limited series—out now WATCH HERE.

From the smokestacks of Birmingham, England, to stages around the globe, Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal traces the life and legacy of Tony Iommi, the pioneering guitarist whose sound and vision forged the foundations of heavy metal. Beginning with his working-class upbringing and the birth of Black Sabbath, the series shows how Iommi’s genre-defining riffs and groundbreaking albums reshaped rock, ignited a global movement, and inspired generations to pick up the guitar.

Volume One features Tony’s music history and a deep dive his massive influence on countless other luminaries of heavy music with in-depth interviews with Tony Iommi and a star-studded lineup of peers and disciples—including Brian May, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Yungblud, Scott Ian, John 5, Phil Anselmo, and Blackie Lawless—plus appearances by Tom Morello and Troy Van Leeuwen, and firsthand accounts from Birmingham icons Rob Halford and Justin Broadrick.

The series examines how Iommi’s innovations—and the groundbreaking work of Black Sabbath—continue to reverberate across musical styles and eras, cementing their legacy as the architects of one of the most enduring and influential genres in modern music history.

“I’m very grateful to Gibson for this new documentary series and for honouring my role in the story of heavy metal” says Tony Iommi. “Hearing the kind words from so many incredible artists is really humbling. Thank you all for telling the story with such heart—and to the fans who’ve kept it alive. Long may it continue!”

“Tony Iommi is the godfather of heavy metal—the creator, the sonic architect, the rifflord who started it all. El Padrino, as I like to call him” says Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson. “It’s an incredible honor for all of us at Gibson to pay tribute to Tony with this epic Gibson Films release.”

“No matter what regional metal scene or sub genre we explored, every artist we interviewed always pointed the finger back to Tony” adds Mark Agnesi, Director of Brand Experience at Gibson. “He is the Riff Lord!!!!”

“Tony Iommi remains the undisputed godfather of heavy metal. Through his iconic riffs and uncompromising vision, he gave birth to a sound that was rooted in darkness and became the foundation for generations of musicians,” continues Todd Harapiak, Media Director at Gibson and Producer of the series. “It’s been truly remarkable to have so many artists unite for this series and hear how Black Sabbath changed the course of their musical lives. The Godfather of Heavy Metal not only celebrates the journey of Lord Iommi and Sabbath but also shines a light on the stories of the countless bands who carried their torch forward.”

Parents hated it. Their kids loved it. As the Summer of Love faded, an ominous new sound rose from Birmingham—Tony Iommi was its architect. His genre-defining riffs with Black Sabbath birthed a musical language that became a way of life, uniting millions through rebellion, passion, and a relentless sound that refuses to fade.

Volume One of Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal is streaming now, worldwide, exclusively on Gibson TV, WATCH HERE.

Read more about the show on the Gibson Gazette HERE.

Above: Tony Iommi. Credit Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archive.

• MARTY SUPREME
• Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion)
• Rated: R
• Running Time: 149 minutes
• A24        

Our score:  4.5 out of 5 

Like Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel before him, Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) has a single-minded confidence in his goal. The former knew for certain that the Las Vegas strip would eventually become an unstoppable geyser of cash. Marty believes his skills with a table tennis racket will lead him to riches and recognition.

While Siegel, despite a few setbacks that cost the gangster his life, was right about the future of Sin City, Marty’s less outwardly rewarding quest is consistently entertaining and occasionally poignant.

Like his protagonist, co-writer-director Josh Safdie takes some odd risks. Two of his leads aren’t full time actors, his story takes odd turns and its post-World War II setting seems an odd place to hear 80s bands like Tears for Fears. Thankfully for viewers, Safdie and screenwriter Ronald Bronstein appear to have consistently better judgement than their 23-year-old protagonist.

Marty is a day from being promoted as his uncle’s shoe store and isn’t lying when he says he can sell footware to amputees. He’s also gifted at frustrating Ping-Pong players across the world.

It’s easy to see why Marty might want to take long lunch breaks and neglect the gig that’s actually bringing in cash. His mother is ailing from a variety of non-existent illnesses, and his uncle has a habit of reneging on promised payments. Journalists are also indifferent to assistant managers at shoe stores and grub up his jaw-droppingly arrogant remarks. He boasts that as a Jew, his skills with a paddle are Hitler’s worst nightmare.

Survivors of the Holocaust might not find his attempts at wit successful.

He’s also assuming there’s a demand for the glory of table tennis that might not exist in the real world. He’s even gotten his friend Dion (Luke Manley) to produce a series of custom orange Ping-Pong balls proclaiming “Marty Supreme” on the outside. He tells anyone willing to listen that his face will be on the cover of a Wheaties box momentarily.

Now, if only he can get the money for his flight to the tournament in London.

Back in New York, he’s been romantically involved with Rachel (Odessa A’zion), who just happens to be married to someone else (Emory Cohen), and he runs cons on the side with cab driver named Wally (Tyler the Creator). His family offer him no support and are even enlisting the local cops to stunt Marty’s dreams. Marty also makes the mistake of tangling with a dog loving gangster (moonlighting director Abel Ferrara).

If Marty’s life weren’t already complicated enough, he flirts with a movie star (Gwyneth Paltrow) despite how his arrogance can make him off putting at times. Her husband Milton Rockwell (“Shark Tank” judge Kevin O’Leary) dislikes the cocky fellow but wants to use potential popularity to sell his company’s merchandise in Japan. He’ll pay Marty a king’s ransom if he’ll play against the Land of the Rising Sun’s fearsome champion (Koto Kawaguchi) and throw the match.

Safdie and Bronstein are loosely adapting the life of real life table tennis champ Marty Reisman, but their own tale is consistently engaging because Marty’s wish for something more than a mundane existence is relatable. The two also populate the film with dozens of great supporting characters and surprising twists that have greater weight than simply winning matches.

Chalamet has a gift for playing characters who can do despicable things while keeping an audience’s attention. A lesser performer might make viewers tire of Marty’s broken promises. As I mentioned earlier, the mob got tired of waiting for Siegel’s assurances about Vegas to materialize. Chalamet also has the right physique and looks at home behind a paddle.

As with “Uncut Gems,” which Safdie co-directed with his brother Benny, “Marty Supreme” benefits from a frantic pace that makes it’s two-and-a-half hour running time breeze by. He stages the matches well and handles some sharp changes in tone effortlessly. The movie goes from silly absurdity to moments of danger effortlessly.

It probably helps that Safdie has cast two antagonists who aren’t known actors, but who can play their roles better than most professional thespians. Kevin O’Leary is so appropriately cold and contemptuous that one might see why his wife might be tempted to stray with a naïve braggart like Marty, and it’s easy to believe he clawed his way to a fortune. Similarly, Ferrara projects a dangerous aura that his affection toward a dog can’t dissipate.

The real Marty Reisman had a long career, and Safdie ends his own tale while his athlete is still young. Perhaps he knew well enough wrap things up while the game was going well.

On a scale of zero to five, “Marty Supreme” receives ★★★★½    

• SONG SUNG BLUE
• Starring:  Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
• Directed by:  Craig Brewer
• Rated:  PG 13
• Running time:  2 hrs 13 mins
• Focus Features   

Our score:  4 out of 5

I can’t remember a time when Neil Diamond wasn’t in my life.  This is thanks to my mother, Rose.  She loves Neil.  No, let me put it another way…she LOVES Neil.  She used to say that “Cracklin’ Rosie” was a song about her.  She would pay outrageous amounts to make sure she was sitting front row at his concerts.  She would make him shirts and have them sent backstage.  In a1994 she called me and the first words out of her mouth were, “have you heard?  Neil and Marcia are getting divorced!”  When I asked who she was talking about, she replied, “Neil Diamond!”  I paused a minute and asked, “Mom, did he ask you to marry him?”  I should also point out that, while I lived in Baltimore for 13-years, she only came out to visit me twice.  Coincidentally, Neil Diamond was in town that same week!  If you’ve seen the film “Saving Silverman,” I’ve always maintained that the Jack Black character is based on my mom!

Another big fan was Mike Sardina (Jackman).  Billing himself as “Lightning,” Mike played the clubs of Milwaukee as part of a musical tribute act.  Elvis is his specialty.  When he is bumped from his slot by another singer, Mike decides to go in another direction.  After meeting fellow tribute artist Claire (Hudson) – her specialty is Patsy Cline – it is suggested that Mike try sining Neil Diamond songs.  Mike is reluctant, at first, because he holds Diamond, and his songs, in such high regard.    Eventually he agrees and, after convincing Claire to be part of the act, they bill themselves as “Thunder and Lightning” while presenting the Neil Diamond Experience.  Both Mike and Claire have had their share of adversity but nothing has prepared them for what comes next.

Based on a true story (I highly recommend seeing the documentary of the same name), “Song Sung Blue” succeeds mostly on the performances of Jackman and Hudson.  We all know Hugh Jackman can sing, but I was blown away by Ms. Hudson’s vocals, though I shouldn’t be too surprised considering her mother is Goldie Hawn, one of the best triple threat performers in film history.

While the music is the highlight, it is the story that pulls the film down some.  Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that if there was something that could go wrong for Mike and Claire, it most definitely did.   Jackman and Hudson are also buoyed by a great supporting cast, including Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Ella Anderson and King Princess.  And a special shoutout to Jim Belushi, who steals every scene he’s in.

I asked my mom if, having lived about an hour away from Milwaukee for the past 50 years, if she had ever seen “Lightning and Thunder.”  Surprisingly, she hadn’t.  But I’m sure if she had, she would have been their biggest fan!

On a scale of zero to five I give “Song Sung Blue” ★★★★

• ANACONDA  (2025)
• Starring:  Paul Rudd, Jack Black and Steve Zaun
• Directed by:  Tom Gormican
• Rated:  PG 13
• Running time:  1 hr 39 mins
• SONY Pictures

Our Score:  3.5 out of 5

In 1997, SONY released the film “Anaconda.”  Starring Jon Voight, Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez and others, it was a modest hit.  My son was 13 when it came out, and he and his friends loved it.  Apparently they weren’t the only ones.  Other fans include Paul Rudd and Jack Black, who have set out to remake the film in their own way.  They should be proud of what they’ve done.

We first meet Ronald Griffin – Griff for short – (Rudd) at work.  Griff is an actor and the jobs are coming further and further apart.  Back home, his childhood friend Doug (Black) has given up on his dreams of being a filmmaker and now spends his days working for his father’s wedding video company.  When Griff surprises Doug by coming home for his birthday, he mentions that he has been given the rights to remake the film “Anaconda,” and wants to do it with his friends.  All they need is a big snake.

Both seriously funny and thrilling at the same time, “Anaconda” works thanks to the chemistry of its cast.  Doug and Griff are joined by pals Kenny (Zaun), their longtime cameraman, and Claire (Thandie Newton), Griff’s one time girlfriend who comes along to play the female lead.  The four have a genuine friendship which translates well to the big screen.  But the film is not just played for laughs.  There are some pretty intense moments, quite understandable when you’re trying to deal with a 20-foot-long snake!

The visual effects are pretty solid and they keep the screams (and the laughs) coming.

If you see one Snake movie this year, make it “Anaconda!”

On a scale of zero to five stars, I give “Anaconda” ★★★½

• THE HOUSEMAID
• Starring:  Sidney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried
• Directed by:  Paul Feig
• Rated:  R
• Running time:  2 hrs 10 mins
• Lionsgate
• Our Score:  4 out of 5

If the name Paul Feig sounds familiar, it’s probably because of his work in some well known comedies.  Besides directing several episodes of television’s “The Office,” he has worked extensively with Melissa McCarthy, directing such films as “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat,” “Spy” and the underappreciated 2016 “Ghostbusters.”  So to find him in charge of a psychological thriller may come as a surprise.  I’m happy to say it’s a good one.

Millie (Sweeney) is a woman on her own.  Flitting from job to job, she currently finds herself living in her car and applying for anything she can find.  One such job is as a housekeeper for a very posh socialite (Seyfried).  She interviews well and gets the job.  It should be the end of her troubles.  But it’s just the beginning.

Riding on the shoulders of it’s two leading actresses, “The Housemaid” is like a roller coaster ride, taking you in one direction until, unexpectedly, taking a turn so jarring you need to catch your breath.  Sweeney plays Millie as a tough, but seemingly goodhearted, woman with a past she’s trying to escape.  Seyfried, as Nina, seems genuinely kind, but she soon reveals she is also dealing with demons she can’t escape.  All of this plays out in a beautiful home, brightly lit and friendly, that slowly becomes darker and darker as secret after secret is revealed.  As Andrew, Nina’s husband, Brandon Sklenar does his best to keep the peace, but we soon learn he has secrets too.

The film is well paced, and director Feig wisely let’s the story play out without telegraphing the next twist.  All in all, this is a film I really recommend.

On a scale of zero to five, I give “The Housemaid”  ★★★★ 

Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis
Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
Rated: R
Running Time: 118 minutes
Focus Features

Film Score: 4 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 1.5 out of 5 Stars

What used to be fringe is now mainstream. Conspiracy theories permeate American life, fueled by a mix of civic ignorance and algorithms designed to feed us junk science, paranoia, and rage. That’s why a film like “Bugonia” doesn’t just feel timely, but it feels uncomfortably real, like a mirror being held up to society while society refuses to look.

Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is the CEO of a pharmaceutical conglomerate and a rising star in the business world. That’s why it’s shocking, to her and to us, when she’s kidnapped by Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis). In the basement of Teddy’s mother’s house, Michelle is tied to a chair and has her head shaved. Teddy calmly explains that they know she’s an alien. Not just any alien, but one of the higher-ups tasked with keeping humanity subservient while destroying small communities and the planet itself; specifically, honeybees. Michelle, and the audience, can only look on in disbelief.

But this is a Yorgos Lanthimos film, and a remake of a South Korean original, so the central question isn’t just whether Michelle is an alien. That’s the film’s primary mystery. The secondary, and arguably more unsettling one, is Teddy’s conspiratorial mind. Is he delusional? Is he right? Or is he projecting his very real frustrations with a broken system onto a sci-fi fantasy that gives his suffering meaning? We’re also left wondering how fully Don understands or believes in a plan that grows increasingly violent and dangerous.

“Bugonia” is structured around these uncertainties, offering brief flashes of bleak humor while peeling back Teddy’s mental state and asking whether humanity really needs extraterrestrial villains to explain its own failures. At its core, this is a story about a terrified human watching his world collapse. Teddy’s mother is in a coma. His home is literally rotting. He’s unemployed, isolated, and convinced that nature itself is screaming in pain. The question isn’t just whether aliens are to blame, but it’s whether we’re too narcissistic as a species to accept that we’re sometimes, if not most of the time, the villains of our own story.

Plemons and Stone are exceptional, particularly in scenes where they engage in psychological sparring. Stone plays Michelle with just enough ambiguity to keep us guessing whether she’s a helpless victim, a ruthless capitalist, or an intergalactic executioner ready to end the human experiment. Plemons, meanwhile, brings surprising nuance to Teddy. He’s not framed as a traditional villain, but as a deeply pathetic figure. He’s incapable of reckoning with the world around him and desperate for a narrative that explains his powerlessness.

There’s no shortage of themes in “Bugonia”: environmental collapse, nihilism, conspiracy thinking, capitalism, and humanity’s place in the universe. I found myself viewing the film as a crossroads between our ancient need to believe we matter and the scientific reality that we’re specks of dust in an indifferent cosmos. If you lean into that interpretation, the film may feel bleaker and more sobering than entertaining, but at times that seems intentional.

You could read “Bugonia” as smiling through the apocalypse. I see it more as an invitation to embrace absurdity while staring straight at the fact sheet detailing our future. Either way, it’s a darkly funny, unsettling reminder that the scariest monsters aren’t aliens, they’re the stories we tell ourselves to avoid responsibility.

4K Review

THE BIRTH OF THE BEES: THE MAKING OF BUGONIA: Interviews with the cast and crew.

Trailers

Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” nominated in eight categories, received five awards at the 60th Annual James Loutzenhiser Awards, voted on by the members of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC). These included Best Film, the Robert Altman Award for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn. Director Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” received three awards, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan. Two awards went to “Weapons,” including Best Supporting Actress for Amy Madigan.

The KCFCC, the second oldest professional film critic organization in the United States, was founded in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser (1931-2001), who served as the group’s president for over 30 years. Other awards of note included “Sinners” winning the Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and “Hedda” winning the Tom Poe Award for Best LGBTQ Film. Below is a complete list of the winners from the 60th Annual James Loutzenhiser Awards:

BEST FILM: “One Battle After Another”

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”

BEST ACTOR: Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”

BEST ACTRESS: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Madigan, “Weapons”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: “Weapons”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: “One Battle After Another”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “One Battle After Another”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: “Sinners”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: “KPop Demon Hunters”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “It Was Just an Accident”

BEST DOCUMENTARY: “Secret Mall Apartment”

VINCE KOEHLER AWARD FOR THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/HORROR FILM: “Sinners”

TOM POE AWARD FOR THE BEST LGBTQ FILM: “Hedda”

Two and a Half Men is a show that I used to watch religiously. Each week, I would tune into the crazy antics of Charlie and Alan Harper and Alan’s son Jake. I watched very few sitcom shows, other than The Big Bang Theory but this show had an amazing run. From 2003 to 2015. It ran 12 seasons for 262 episodes. Honestly, the first eight seasons is where it’s at. After Sheen left the show should have hung up its towel. But it did push on for four more seasons with Ashton Kutcher taking over for Sheen.

Official Premise: Get set for an extended visit to Malibu’s most happening beach house with The Complete Series of one of the longest running live-action sitcoms in TV history, Two and a Half Men. Join brothers Charlie and Alan Harper; their estranged (and strange) kids, Jenny and Jake; gazillionaire Walden Schmidt; and housekeeper Berta for 12 years of hilarious high jinks with bad boys, funny men, gorgeous girls, celebrity neighbors, sexy stalkers, eccentric parents and more.

The set features full 1080p high definition presentations of every single episodes, which look great and are each paired with lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0 (for seasons 1-6) and DTS-HD MA 5.1 (for seasons 7-12). The 5.1 tracks obviously have a bit more depth than the earlier season’s 2.0 tracks.

There is a ton of great special features included even though there is only two commentary tracks included on “Tucked, Taped And Gorgeous” by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn and on “Mr. McGlue’s Feedbag” by Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones. My favorite is the gag reels included on seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12. There is a bonus episode – the “CSI” episode “Two And A Half Deaths.” Lastly there are fifteen featurettes included ranging from a behind-the-scenes look at production, interviews with Lee Aronsohn and Chuck Lorre and a featurette focusing on the 100th episode.

Told in seven parts, “Sisu: Road to Revenge” is a sequel to an unlikely hit film, 2022’s “Sisu”. When the first film hit in 2022, it was a sleeper hit and shocked audiences with it being the little film that could. It was balls-to-the-wall action packed and didn’t let up for a second of it’s 90 minute run time. “Sisu: Road to Revenge” picks up right where the first left off and dives in immediately. It also like its predecessor kicks it off to 11 within the opening scene. This movie is non-stop madness.

Official Premise: Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, “the man who refuses to die” (JORMA TOMMILA) dismantles it and loads it onto a truck, determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family (STEPHEN LANG) comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues — a fight to the death, full of clever, unbelievable action set pieces.

We have car chases, flying tanks, airplane bombings and fighting on trains. This film has it all. I thought how could you top the first film but this one did it in the first few minutes and never let up for the remaining 80 minutes. It is tight and a blast to watch. Jorma Tommila reprises his role as Aatami Korpi, the dialogue free unlikely action star and is so bad to the bone and kicks so much ass. Richard Brake (Game of Thrones) and Stephen Lang (Avatar franchise) join in one the fun and round out an amazing cast. They add a ton to the film especially Lang who is just the worst son bitch.

On the digital copy, we even get some special features, which are great. First up there is a featurette called, “Upping the Ante”, which talks about how the film scaled bigger for the sequel. There is also a delete scene and an alternate ending, which also kicked ass. I know we likely won’t get a third film in the franchise due to lower box office performance for this sequel but these two films have excellent re-view value and after watching, I knew I would be watching again real soon in a back-to-back double feature. I would give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang
Directed by: James Cameron
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 197 minutes
20th Century Studios

Our Score: 1.5 out of 5 Stars

As I walked out of the three-hour-and-seventeen-minute “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” I felt something I didn’t feel during “Avatar” or “The Way of Water”: pure exhaustion. And it wasn’t the runtime, or wearing 3D glasses over my regular glasses, or the fact that I spent an entire morning sitting in a dark theater. It’s because I simply do not care about anything that happens in these movies.

“Fire and Ash” picks up sometime after “Way of Water,” with the human-turned-Na’vi Jake (Sam Worthington) still living among the water Na’vi. He’s there with his wife, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), their kids, and Spider (Jack Champion);  the human boy in the oxygen mask who’s the son of Jake’s archnemesis, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who is also still alive inside a blue cat body. And honestly? I don’t remember how Quaritch became a 10-foot tall blue feline or why Spider lives with Jake and Neytiri. I also don’t remember if their kids are actually their kids, why their teenage daughter Kiri is played by 76-year-old Sigourney Weaver or why they’re living with the water tribe in the first place. I don’t remember half the characters I’m not mentioning. And the truth is: I don’t care.

That’s the fundamental issue with the “Avatar” franchise. These characters exist, but we never truly connect with them. Colonel Quaritch has died multiple times and keeps returning. It makes you wonder if death even means anything in this universe. Jake and Neytiri’s kids are new, but they don’t have personalities outside of disobeying orders, getting scolded, and then saving the day anyway. Jake and Neytiri seem like a couple on the rocks. Jake talks to everyone like they’re in the Marine Corps. Apparently Kate Winslet is in this movie, but if you asked me who she played, I’d stare at you like you asked me to explain quantum physics. Oona Chaplin plays Varang, a new Na’vi who loves fire (hence the title), but even she is just another power-hungry villain; indistinguishable from the humans trying to colonize Pandora. It’s just a lot of plot that I don’t care about.

The themes are all still here, like the prior films:  imperialism, environmentalism, spirituality, family, the broad allegory about Indigenous peoples and the military-industrial complex. But this third trip to Pandora doesn’t say anything new about any of it, nor does it change the story structure. It simply repackages old ideas with new chase scenes and polished fight sequences, which are the only reasons I didn’t fall asleep. It all looks gorgeous, great and visually stimulating when things are blowing up. Special effects and groundbreaking technology are still the big positive takeaways.

However, the exposition is endless. It revolves around characters and lore we’re never given a reason to care about. And the things that “might” be interesting, like the God-like thing in the water or the human colony, are barely explored. I’ve never rewatched any of the “Avatar” films, and now I understand why. It’s bizarre because I’ve rewatched every other James Cameron movie multiple times. Cameron usually balances spectacle, popcorn thrills, and human themes to deliver truly compelling blockbusters. But “Avatar” remains…alien. No pun intended. It didn’t click until the credits rolled that I haven’t rewatched “Avatar” because I feel like I have rewatched it twice under different names. No amount of budget money or visual spectacle can fix that.