I didn’t have Astronomer Carl Sagan, who died almost 30 years ago, on my list of potential movie stars of summer 2025, but here we are. His voice plays an important role in two of my favorite films of the summer, “The Life of Chuck” and “Elio.”
Copyright 2025 Disney Pixar
Pedro Pascal is also on the list, with appearances in three major films, as the wealthy suitor for Dakota Johnson in “Materialists,” mayor of a small town in the dark political satire “Eddington,” and Reed Richards, the stretchable Mr. Fantastic in “Fantastic 4.”
Sarah Niles, who played Dr. Sharon in “Ted Lasso,” is also in there of the summer’s biggest films. in “F1” she plays the mother of the race car drive played by Damson Idris, in “Heads of State” she plays an aide to the President played by John Cena, and in “Fantastic 4” she plays a similar role for the title superheroes. It was a pleasure to see her and to hear her impressive facility with accents.
Before They Were Stars: Maika Monroe and Jeremy Allen White
Posted on July 20, 2024 at 8:00 am
Maika Monroe stars in one of the highest-profile horror films of 2024, “Longlegs,” following her role in a thriller, “The Watcher.” And Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White is now one of television’s biggest stars, with the third season of “The Bear.” (Also in the film is Sasha Lane, who appears in this week’s blockbuster, “Twisters.”)
After Everything Copyright 2024 Yale Productions
Just six years ago, Monroe and White played a romantic couple in a small, independent film called “After Everything,” written and directed by Hannah Marks and Joey Power. I gave the film 3 1/2 stars out of 4 in a review for rogerebert.com: ” a bittersweet love story, bitter because the couple meet just as the guy is diagnosed with cancer, but sweet because the young couple is so believably tender and loving….White and Monroe create imperfect but always likable characters and the direction is brisk but assured.”
Here Hannah Marks and Joey Power, and Jeremy Allen White talk about the film.
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with movies starring some of the greatest stars in movie history. If you haven’t seen all of these, you deserve a pinch!
Two of the most talented and charismatic up and coming actors, Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, appeared in last year’s tenderest love story (about the love between parent and child as well as romantic love), “All of Us Strangers.”
Maureen O’Hara — her fiery red hair was made for technicolor and she was ideally cast opposite John Wayne in films like “The Quiet Man” and “McLintock.” I especially loved her as the mom in “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Parent Trap.”
Colin Farrell — he is electrifying as a bad guy but willing to go all out in a comedy like “Horrible Bosses” or the wonderfully weird “The Lobster.” I especially loved him as a sensitive gay man in “A Home at the End of the World,” and his appearance with Elmo on “Sesame Street.”
Saoirse Ronan — one of the most talented young stars working today, she first gained international stardom in “Atonement” and has shown astonishing range in films like “Hanna” and “Brooklyn.”
Liam Neeson — an Oscar winner for “Schindler’s List,” Neeson is equally at home in serious drama and in action films like “Taken.”
Pierce Brosnan — the most elegant of the James Bonds, Brosnan also played a very different kind of spy in “The Matador” and sang (or tried to) in “Mama Mia.”
Peter O’Toole — best known for “Lawrence of Arabia,” but his most endearing performance is probably the swashbuckling movie star guesting on a live television show in “My Favorite Year.” And don’t miss him as a movie director in “The Stunt Man” and an art expert turned thief in “How to Steal a Million.”
Jonathan Rhys Meyers — he was Henry VIII on HBO’s “The Tudors” and the soccer coach in “Bend it Like Beckham.”
Chris O’Dowd — Kristen Wiig could not resist him in “Bridesmaids,” and he was equally appealing in “Pirate Radio” and the British sitcom “The IT Crowd.” He plays the manager of a girl group in “The Sapphires” and created the very funny series “Moone Boy.”
Daniel Day-Lewis — he played Abraham Lincoln, but he has also played real-life Irish icons Christy Brown (“My Left Foot”) and Gerry Conlon (“In the Name of the Father”).
Pat O’Brien — this dependable character actor starred as Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne.
MVPs of the Month: Nicholas Galitzine and Ayo Edebiri
Posted on August 22, 2023 at 3:06 pm
Each August, if we’re lucky, we get to see breakthrough talent in the August movie releases, where the indie darlings and festival hits make it to theaters. This month there are two actors making sensational appearances in two different films and I can’t wait to see more of them.
Here’s a glimpse of both of them in “Bottoms.”
Copyright 2023 AmazonIt’s hard to imagine a bigger chasm between the two roles played by Nicholas Galiztne this month. In “Red, White & Royal Blue” he plays a prince, the grandson of the King of England and the brother of the heir to the throne. In his bespoke suits (made by the same firm that does the suits for the real royals), he is an elegant exemplar of discretion and diplomacy. The movie shifts from a rom-com vibe to a more serious romantic drama, and Galitzine gracefully shifts with it, showing us how the prince yearns for what his duty tells him he cannot have.
Copyright 2023 MGMIn “Bottoms,” he plays Jeff, an American small-town high school quarterback who is dumb, arrogant, obnoxious, and constantly unfaithful to his girlfriend. Galitzine perfectly nails not just the character but the heightened tone of the film. The film is wildly funny, mostly very dark, satiric comedy, and again he is tonally perfect every bit of the way.
Ayo Edebiri is one of the leads in “Bottoms,” a high school student who starts an all-women fight club with her best friend. Her supremely expressive face and perfectly calibrated dialogue are a highlight of the film. You can also see her in the hit series about the Chicago restaurant, “The Bear.”
She has a small but vital part in one of my favorites of the year, “Theater Camp,” as a counselor brought in at the last minute who has no idea what she is doing. She shows enormous range and understanding of tone in each of these very different works. For a treat, try some of her stand-up clips on YouTube, showing us she is adorable as herself. Copyright 2023 Hulu
Andrea Riseborough: See the Surprise Oscar Nominee
Posted on January 30, 2023 at 10:38 am
Copyright 2022 Momentum Pictures
The biggest surprise among the acting Oscar nominations this year was Andrea Riseborough as Best Actress. There were three reasons awards-predictors did not expect to hear her name. First, the movie she starred in, “To Leslie,” was made for under one million dollars and made about $30,000. Very few people saw it. This is the kind of film that is overlooked, possibly a candidate for a Spirit award but not in the same category as big-budget, big-stars Oscar movies. Second, there was no big-budget FYC (“For your consideration”) publicity campaign to make sure Academy voters saw it. Third, her performance got unprecedented support from industry insiders like Gwyneth Paltrow who took to social media to urge Academy voters to consider her.
The part that is not a surprise for anyone who has seen her is that Riseborough’s performance was extraordinary. She always is. You may have seen her before but not realized it because she inhabits every role so completely it is easy to forget it is the same actress.
There is some controversy about the way her nomination was supported. One social media post compared her to another actor, which is not allowed under the rules. But that has nothing to do with Riseborough, who did nothing wrong. Whatever happens to the nomination, I hope audiences watch “To Leslie” and seek out some of her other performance. Here are some I especially recommend.
Riseborough starred opposite Tom Cruise in a film set in 2077. A veteran assigned to extract Earth’s remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.
She was a hairdresser who becomes romantically involved with Billie Jean King in “Battle of the Sexes.”
She plays an awful mother in “Matilda: The Musical”
She was a woman who might be a lost daughter who was kidnapped as a child in “Nancy”
