Rated R for brief drug use, sexual material, and language throughout
Profanity:
Constant strong language including the n-word
Nudity/ Sex:
Sexual references
Alcohol/ Drugs:
Brief drug use
Violence/ Scariness:
Comic peril and violence, one very bloody scene, gangster violence, fire
Diversity Issues:
A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:
January 17, 2025
If winter seems unending and the headlines have you down, “One of Them Days” will cheer you up. Keke Palmer (Dreux) and SZA (Alyssa) play best friends and roommates having a day that gets even more wildly and more hilariously wrong, It is crazy, silly, over-the-top, and a ton of fun.
Copyright 2025 Sony
We first see Dreux near the end of her overnight shift at Norm’s, part of a chain of diners. We can see that she is good at her job, friendly, capable, caring with her regular customers. Dreux is organized and focused. Alyssa is more of a free spirit, an artist who says she is in touch with her ancestors and trusts to the universe to take care of her.
Dreux leaves Norm’s at 7 am. At 4, she will have an interview for a job as a manager that she very much wants. She is nervous because she does not have some of the academic credentials of her competition, but hopes that her experience will be enough to persuade them to take a chance on her. All she needs to do is get home, get some sleep, and get ready.
But her landlord (Rizi Timane as Uche) tells her that her rent has not been paid and if he does not get the money by 6 pm she and Alyssa will be evicted, with everything in their apartment moved to the curb. It turns out Alyssa gave the rent money to her feckless boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) and he never gave it to Uche. A clock appears on screen to tell us how much time the women have before they’re evicted.
Keshawn lies about more than the money. He’s cheating on Alyssa with fiery red-head Berniece (Aziza Scott). When she blames Alyssa and Dreux for humiliating her, she decided to go after them to beat them up.
Thus, there’s a set-up with three ticking clocks, to be on time and presentable for the interview, to have the money for the landlord, and to hide from Berniece. More tension piles up as their car gets towed, their efforts to get money go haywire, and they manage to get in trouble with the local kingpin, who demands $5000 by midnight, adding another ticking clock.
But in the midst of all this the tension is just enough to create a frame around the Lucy-and-Ethel level of crazy shenanigans I do not want to spoil. I’ll just say there’s a lot of mayhem and ups and downs plus some harsh words and a reconciliation.
This movie is a lot smarter and, yes, even in the midst of the wild and crazy stuff, it has a lot more heart than you might expect. There are echoes of films like “Friday” and “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” but this is kinder to the characters (most of them) and to us. They are not clowns. They are just a couple of young women trying to make it in a world stacked against them, with resilience and ingenuity.
Early in the film, Dreux and Alyssa learn that their building (which they call “the jungle”) is getting its first white tenant. It turns out to be a friendly young woman named Bethany (Maude Apatow). Thankfully, she is neither presented as someone who is there to teach Dreux and Alyssa or to learn from them. She may have a different experience and vocabulary. Her apartment, unlike theirs, looks like the pictures on the building’s website, with crown molding and a working air conditioner. But she is genuine and would like to make friends.
Palmer and SZA are outstanding, but so is the supporting cast. Every encounter Druex and Alyssa have is buoyed by the actors in even the smallest roles. It is difficult to pick just a few to mention, but the most memorable include Katt Williams as a man who tries to warn the young women to stay away from a predatory lender (“If you don’t have the money this month, you won’t have it next month”), Keyla Monterroso Mejia as the intake officer at the lender who cannot hide her laughter at Dreux’s credit score (and listen for the voice of producer Issa Rae in the audio recording in the lender waiting room). There is some cartoonish slapstick at the blood bank and a power line, but there are also moments of kindness and support, with Vanessa Bell Calloway as a neighbor who runs a mini-bodega out of her apartment and Gabrielle Dennis as one of the executives interviewing Dreux. And there’s an almost Capra-esque moment of the community coming together as the young women learn that they had what they needed all along.
Parents should know that this movie has constant very strong language and slapstick violence, including a visit to the blood bank gone very wrong. There are humorous sexual references including a man’s revealing underwear and brief drug use. A gangster’s henchmen drop someone out of a window.
Family discussion: What would you do if you were in Dreux’s and Alyssa’s situation? How do they feel about Bethany and why? What did you think Maniac’s story was going to be?
If you like this, try: “Friday” and its sequels and “Up in Smoke”
Happy New Year! Here are some of the films I’m looking forward to in 2025. As usual, we’re getting a lot of remakes, reboots, sequels, and superheroes. We have movies coming out about Frankenstein and about the bride of Frankenstein. And as usual, the best part of looking ahead is knowing that this time next year some filmmakers I’ve never heard of who will surprise and delight us. {Release dates and other information may change.)
JANUARY
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl(Netflix, Jan. 3) Aardman films are always a delight and the dim, cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his devoted (though sometimes exasperated) Gromit are my favorites. This one features warring robot garden gnomes and the return of Feathers McGraw.
Back in Action (Netflix, January 17) The primary interest in this action comedy is the return of two beloved stars, Jamie Foxx, back after the health crisis he describes in his new comedy special, and Cameron Diaz, back after taking a break to be home with her family.
One of Them Days (Theaters, January 17) A wild action comedy starring Keke Palmer and Sza? About roommates whose friendship is tested on a day where the landlord needs the rent, a job interview has to go perfectly, and everything seems to get in the way? And Issa Rae producing? Can’t wait!
Wish You Were Here (Theatrical, January 17) Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut in a film based on the bestselling novel by Renée Carlino, Wish You Were Here. Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jennifer Grey and Kelsey Grammer star, When the perfect night with a perfect stranger ends suddenly the next morning, Charlotte searches for answers and meaning in her disappointing life until she uncovers a secret that changes everything.
Alarum (Theatrical and VOD, January 17) Sylvester Stallone, Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald, and Mike Colter star in a story about a couple, both spies, who go off the grid but are followed by some very dangerous people who feel strongly about getting a missing hard drive.
You’re Cordially Invited (Amazon, January 30) Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell head warring families who’ve mistakenly double-booked the same wedding venue. Written and directed by Nicholas Stoller (“The Five-Year Engagement), and co-starring two of my favorite up-and-coming comedy all-stars, Geraldine Viswanathan and Meredith Hagner.
Love Me (Theaters, January 31) “A postapocalyptic romance in which a buoy and a satellite meet online and fall in love after the end of human civilization.” They had me at buoy and satellite. The cast includes Kristen Stewart and Stephen Yeun.
FEBRUARY
Love Hurts (Theaters, February 7) Oscar-winners Ke Huy Quan and Ariana Debose team up in an action comedy about an apparently mild-mannered suburban realtor whose past as part of a ruthless crime syndicate. Former football player Marshawn Lynch, who was hilarious in “Bottoms,” co-stars.
Captain America: Brave New World (Theaters February 14) It’s a brave new Cap as Anthony Mackie takes over the role of the guy with the vibranium shield. IMDB lists Harrison Ford as “Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross / Red Hulk,” who is also the US President. Sounds great.
Paddington in Peru (Theaters, February 14) “Paddington 2” is still Rotten Tomatoes’ highest rated film. Will this one, with Paddington finally going to visit Aunt Lucy, do even better?
Cleaner (Theatrical, February 21) Activists take 300 hostages at a corporate gala to make a political point, but one of their group betrays them and plans to kill everyone. It happens that the window clear suspended 50 stories outside the building is ex-military and her younger brother is one of the hostages.
Old Guy (Theatrical and VOD, February 21) Christoph Waltz is the title character, a hitman who is forced to train his young replacement (Cooper Hoffman). When they learn they are being betrayed, the unlikely pair turns into a lethal team – with their double-crossing bosses in their sights. Lucy Liu co-stars in this action comedy from the director of “Con Air.”
The Unbreakable Boy (Theatrical, February 21) Zachary Levi and Meghann Fahy play the parents of a boy with autism and brittle bone disease but an unquenchable spirit.
Uppercut (Theatrical and on demand, February 28) Ving Rhames plays a boxing coach, with Luise Großmann as the woman he trains, who becomes the manager of an up-and-coming fighter (Jordan E. Cooper).
MARCH
The Electric State (Netflix, March 14) “Stranger Things'” and “Enola Holmes” Millie Bobby Brown plays the sister of a missing man who gets help from a robot. The stacked cast includes Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, and Stanley Tucci.
MARCH
Snow White (Theaters, March 21) No one can convince me that Disney needs to make live-action versions of its classic animated films, but “West Side Story’s” Rachel Ziegler and Gal Gadot as the evil step-mother plus, I predict, a less passive heroine, will probably make this worth a look.
Mickey 17 (Theaters, March 17) Robert Pattinson plays an “expendable” who is rebooted every time he is no longer useful, from “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho.
APRIL
The Accountant 2 (Theaters, April 25) I’m a fan of the 2016 original, with Ben Affleck as an accountant on the autism spectrum who has some very special skills. I’m not sure anyone was waiting for a sequel, but the original writer and director are returning so I’m sure they have something special in mind.
MAY
Thunderbolts (Theatrical, May 2) It’s tempting to call this Temu Avengers or the B-team of second-tier Marvel characters. many we’ve seen as villains, with Florence Pugh is back as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes and David Harbour as Red Guardian. This film adds Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster and Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost.
Lilo & Stitch (Theatrical, May 23) Another live-action remake from Disney, this time about the impish alien befriended by a spirited Hawaiian girl. The cast includes Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis and Courtney B. Vance.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Theatrical, May 23) We’ve been waiting for this one since 2022 and I’m guessing Tom Cruise is going to deliver the best stunts of the year. “Ted Lasso’s” Hannah Waddington joins returning Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Vanessa Kirby.
JUNE
Ballerina (Theatrical, June 6) From the JWCU (John Wick Cinematic Universe) comes Ana de Armas as a ballet dancer turned assassin. I predict some very graceful and deadly pirouettes and tour jetes.
Elio (Theatrical. June 13) Pixar’s latest is about a boy who is mistaken by aliens for Earth’s leader. Voice talent includes Zoe Saldaña, Jameela Jamil, and Brad Garrett.
How to Train Your Dragon (Theatrical, June 13) ANOTHER live-action remake of a beloved animated film, this one from Universal. The writer and co-director of the original, Dean DeBlois is the writer/director and Gerard Butler returns as Stoick.
F1 (Theatrical, June 27) Brad Pitt and “Banshees of Inisherin” star Kerry Condon star in a film about Formula One racing.
JULY
(Theatrical, July 4) We don’t have a title or a teaser trailer, but what we do know is intriguing! Kendrick Lamar is producing and writers/directorsTrey Parker and Matt Stone (“South Park”) say this film is about a young Black man interning as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum who discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once enslaved his ancestors.
Superman (Theatrical, July 11) The man from Krypton is back, this time played by David Corenswet, with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, the always-great Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Krypto the super-dog, and, maybe, the Fortress of Solitude. James Gunn writes and directs.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Theatrical, July 25)
I hope they’ve finally given the F4 the movie they deserve. It does have a great cast: Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Ralph Ineson as Galactus and Julia Garner as Silver Surfer.
AUGUST
The Bad Guys 2 (Theatrical, August 1)
Can the bad guys make it as good guys? That becomes especially challenging when they run into the Bad Girls, voiced by Maria Baklava, Natasha Lyonne, and Danielle Brooks.
The Naked Gun (Theatrical, August 1) This reboot of the Leslie Nielsen comedies, from “The Lonely Island’s” Akiva Schaffer, stars Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, and Paul Walter Hauser, with an appearance by Busta Rhymes.
The Naked Gun copyright 2025 Paramout
The Battle of Baktan Cross (Theatrical, August 8) The details are kept secret, but we do know this film is coming from P.T. Anderson and stars three Oscar winners; Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Benecio del Toro, along with Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall.
Freakier Friday (Theatrical, August 8) Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are back and swapping bodies again. Mark Harmon and Chad Michael Murray return with newcomers Julia Butters and “The Good Place’s” Manny Jacinto.
Copyright Disney 2024
SEPTEMBER
Downton Abbey 3 (Theatrical, September 12) Come on, you didn’t think we’d miss the wedding of Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton)!
The Bride (Theatrical, September 26) Maggie Gyllenhaal, who made a spectacular directing debut with “The Lost Daughter,” gives us a Frankenstein story set in 1930s Chicago. Her brother Jake is in the cast along with Christian Bale as the monster and Jessie Buckley as the murdered woman re-animated to be his bride. {No release information yet for the new Frankenstein, starring Oscar Isaac, with Jacob Elordi starring as the Monster, plus Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz and Felix Kammerer]
OCTOBER
Michael (Theatrical, October 3) Michael Jackson is portrayed by his nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in a film from Antoine Fuqua. Co-stars include Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller and Colman Domingo.
Regretting You (Theatrical, October 24) Based on another novel by “It Ends With Us” author Colleen Hoover, this has Allison Williams and McKenna Grace as a mother and daughter with a strained relationship. Dave Franco co-stars in a story of love, loss, secrets, and regret.
NOVEMBER
Begonia (Theatrical, November 7) Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone (“Kinds of Kindness,” “Poor Things”) reunite for a story about the kidnapping of a CEO.
Now You See Me 3 (Theatrical, November 14) Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan are back as the endlessly clever magicians who also pull heists.
Wicked: For Good (Theatrical, November 21) I’m guessing people are already booking tickets for the sequel to one of 2024’s most beloved films. I predict the box office returns will defy gravity.
Zootopia 2 (Theatrical, November 26) The Oscar-winning original was a fresh, funny, and heartwarming surprise, so this one is high on my list. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman are joined by the very busy Ke Huy Quan.
The Running Man (Theatrical, November 27) Did I think we needed a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film about the wrongly accused cop who has to compete in a deadly game? Not really, until I heard who’s involved: Director Edgar Wright and star Glenn Powell.
DECEMBER
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Theatrical, December 19) We don’t know much about it, but we know it will look beautiful and sell a lot of tickets.
The Spongebob Movie: Search for SquarePants (Theatrical, December 19) More from the denizens of Bikini Bottom.
“A Complete Unknown” is the story of Bob Dylan’s early years in New York, based on Elijah Wald’s book Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties. It begins with Dylan’s first stop after he arrives from Minnesota, a visit to see Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who was paralyzed and unable to speak, with Huntington’s disease. Guthrie has another visitor, Pete Seeger (Edward Norton, capturing Seeger’s nerdy, generous, gentle optimism). Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) takes out his guitar to play a song he wrote in tribute to Guthrie. The two folk singers are impressed. We then follow the 21-year-old singer/songwriter as he creates some of the century’s most groundbreaking and influential music while mistreating most of the people around him, until he creates a near-riot at the Newport Folk Festival by plugging in his guitar and “going electric.”
Biographical films, especially those about musicians, tend to have the same format, as so devastatingly destroyed in the parody “Walk Hard.” There’s the precocity and one or two formative childhood experiences, then the moment someone on the board in the recording studio says, “Hey, wait, this kid can play/sing!” Success, setback, moments of inspiration, fights with managers/bandmates/romantic partners, often a descent into drugs and/or alcohol, various breakups, possibly a health crisis, and then either an early death or some kind of rebound.
Wisely, this film, from director James Mangold, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jay Cocks, avoids most of the cliches, and makes no kind of effort to understand or reveal the inner workings of the famously inscrutable Dylan. The title of the film, of course taken from the lyrics of “Like a Rolling Stone,” applies to its subject. It is not that the movie tries and fails to help us understand Bob Dylan; on the contrary, it recognizes that Dylan defies that kind of simplification. And that he doesn’t need it and we should not attempt it. Anything we need to know is in the songs.
And so, this movie does give us the songs, full performances with Chalamet’s singing close enough to Dylan’s voice in the 60s, and perhaps with just a bit more lyrical clarity and tunefulness. The movie thus seems like one brilliant song after another, with interludes of Dylan being a terrible boyfriend. For the fans of Dylan the icon as well as Dylan the musician, there are several well-known highlights of his biography, like encounters with other future luminaries. Joan Baez is played with verve and a sweet, clear singing voice by Monica Barbaro, but with no sense of the complexity and conflicts portrayed in the recent documentary . The most amusing is Boyd Holbrook as a young Johnny Cash, who exchanges supportive letters with Dylan and, when they finally meet at Newport, encourages him to “muddy the carpet,” and stir up some trouble. Elle Fanning plays Sylvie, a character based on Suze Rotolo, the young woman pictured holding Dylan’s arm on the cover of his Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan record. She is credited with exposing Dylan to social activism. She tells him songs should be about more than Johnny Appleseed and the Dust Bowl, but Fanning’s scenes are mostly about being disappointed at what a bad boyfriend Dylan is.
At first, Dylan says all he wants is to be a musician and eat. But then he gets successful. He feels oppressed and under pressure. The fans want him to stay the same. He wants to try new ideas. More than that, he does not want to be told what not to do. He gets more reserved, more internal. but his hair keeps getting fuzzier.
The best scene in the movie is when Pete Seeger is hosting his low-key public access television show. He thought Dylan, by then very famous and very busy, was not going to show up. He invited a back-up guest, a Black folk musician. Dylan does show up. Another performer might have apologized and taken over or just rescheduled and allowed the substitute musician to play. But Dylan lights up at the prospect of jamming with him. He starts to play. Seeger joins in. It is the most illuminating, touching, and engaging moment in the movie.
Parents should know that this film includes some strong language, drinking, constant smoking, and marijuana. There are some unhappy confrontations and references to wartime violence.
Family discussion: Was Dylan right about what people wanted to hear when they asked where the songs come from? Which song means the most to you and why? Was he wrong to play electric music at a folk festival? Why did he do it?
Rated PG for action/violence, peril and some thematic elements
Profanity:
None
Nudity/ Sex:
None
Alcohol/ Drugs:
None
Violence/ Scariness:
Characters in peril, flood, animal fights, references to predators, some injured and killed, attacks by predators, some disturbing images
Diversity Issues:
A metaphorical theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:
December 20, 2024
Copyright 2024 Disney
On the 30th anniversary of “The Lion King,” Disney tells the story of Simba’s father and uncle, how they met and grew up together, considering themselves brothers, and the betrayals that tore them apart. This version is “live action,” meaning not traditional animation but realistic CGI so that we can see every detail of fur and landscape. The action and drama is punctuated with songs (Lin-Manuel Miranda taking over from Elton John) and some silly humor to sweeten the tension.
The frame story is set as an adult Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) have a daughter Kiara (Ivy Blue Carter). As a storm comes up, Kiara is scared. Her mother is away and her father leaves her with old friends the warthog Pumbaa and the meerkat Timon (Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner repeating their roles from the 2019 “live action” “Lion King”). Rafiki (John Kani, also returning from the 2019 version) tries to comfort Kiara by telling her the story of the grandfather she never got to meet, Mufasa. (The movie is dedicated to the original voice of Mufasa, the late James Earl Jones.)
Like Kiara, Mufasa was once a young cub afraid of storms. And like Kiara, he had loving parents, Masego (Keith David) and Afia (Anika Noni Rose, already Disney royalty as the voice of Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog). The area they live in has not had rain in many months and the land is parched. They decide to go in search of Milele, a land they believe is filled with lush growth and peaceful animals. On the way there, a storm creates a flood and the young cub is separated from his parents.
He is spotted by Taka, a cub his age with an English accent (remember, in the original film, Scar was played by Jeremy Irons, “brother” to American-accented Mufasa). Taka fishes Mufasa out of the water and brings him home. Taka’s father, Obasi (Lennie James) wants to eat Mufasa. He has a firm rule against outsiders. But Taka’s mother, Eshe (Thandiwe Newton) is a warm, loving, generous soul and Taka wants a “brother.” Obasi gives Mufasa a chance. If he can beat Taka in a race, he can stay. Taka allows him to win, knowing that Obasi will judge him harshly for losing. Obasi grudgingly allows Mufasa to stay, but treats him as “other” and less than by ordering him to stay away from the male lions. This allows Eshe to teach him to hunt the way the lionesses do. They become very close. Mufasa (as an near-adult lion voiced by Aaron Pierre ) has an exceptional sense of smell that allows him to identify animals and their environments even if they are far away.
Obasi’s lions are attacked by a group of pale, ghost-like lions led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen). Knowing they cannot survive, Obasi and Eshe send Taka (now voiced by Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) and Mufasa away, making Mufasa promise that he will protect his friend.
The two young lions have many adventures along the way. They are joined by Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), an independent female lion with a lookout bird named Zazu (Preston Nyman) and Rafiki, a wise mandrill (frequently mistaken by the other characters for a baboon). The group learns to trust and rely on each other. But Taka begins to develop feelings of resentment and jealousy.
The movie looks beautiful and the CGI allows more expressiveness than the 2019 “Lion King” remake. The songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda are not his best. They are placed at points that evoke comparisons to Elton John’s music at similar moments in the original film and the remake. The framing story, with an elderly Rafiki telling Kiara about her grandfather, is sometimes jarringly different in tone, with Timon and Pumbaa making meta jokes. I mean, a joke about getting a call from legal for using too much from a song in the earlier film? Who is that for? And since Disney owns both properties, who is going to argue about intellectual property rights being violated? At least this time they acknowledge that predators are better off than prey. That jump from the cliff moment is awfully similar to “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” There are touching moments, but a lot of loss (even with much of it delicately off-screen) for young children.
I’m losing count of how many prequel/sequel/origin stories I’ve seen this year: “Furiosa,” “Wicked,” “Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim,” “Gladiator 2,” “Transformers One.” It is hard to think of these films as anything more than fan service and brand extension. “Mufasa” is fine and most families will be satisfied. But the jubilant imagination that went into the original, make this one look as pale as Kiros.
Parents should know that this film has a lot of peril and many animals are injured and killed, mostly off-screen. Characters are caught in a flood, and a young cub is separated from his parents, who are assumed to have died. A lion speaks of eating outsiders and is bigoted of those who are not of his blood. A male cub is punished by being forced to stay with the females.
Family discussion: How were Taka and Mufasa different? Why did Taka want to change his name?
If you like this, try: the earlier “Lion King” movies and the very cute “Lion King 1 1/2”
