Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Posted on January 2, 2026 at 9:34 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violent content, bloody images, strong language, some crude sexual material, and smoking
Profanity:	Strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness
Violence/ Scariness:	Gristly violence, graphic and disturbing images, murders
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	November 22, 2025
Date Released to DVD:	December 13, 2025

I love Rian Johnson‘s “Knives Out” movies, and this latest one had everything I hoped for: a twisty plot, a knock-out cast, a dash of commentary about contemporary life and searching for meaning. Also: searching for money. Power, too, but especially money. Writer/director Rian Johnson makes each film in the series a different setting and tone, so instead of “Glass Onion’s” sunny setting in a huge, art-filled mansion on a Greek island, this one has a gothic feeling, set in and around a spooky Catholic Church in upstate New York.

It begins with a literal knock-out. An idealistic young priest named Father Jud Duplenticy (2025’s MVP Josh O’Connor, in his third of four films released this year) punches another priest in the nose for some unnamed offensive remark. Father Jud came to the Catholic church after a brief career as a boxer and a period of feeling lost and guilty. He is devoted to his calling as a way to share healing, encouragement, trust, and community.

He is assigned by his bishop (Jeffrey Wright) to be assistant priest to the imperious Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Even the names have a gothic ring. Monsignor Wicks (do NOT call him Father) has a small coterie of devoted followers and enjoys being so bombastic and judgmental from the pulpit that anyone outside that group walks out of the service. He is not happy to have Father Jud and immediately accuses him of trying to take over the church. Then he insists on giving his confession and intentionally makes it as uncomfortable for Father Jud (though hilarious for the audience) as possible.

Glenn Close plays Martha Delacroix (I told you about the names), who is the church’s pretty much everything but the priest. She runs the office and fills the chalice. As a child, she was devoted to Wicks’ grandfather, a widower with a daughter who became a priest, and it has been the center of her life ever since.

The Wicks loyalists are groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Hayden Church), who is in love with Martha, popular author turned fanatic Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), currently working on a book about Wicks with a strong overlay of conspiracy theories, ailing young cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), who believes Wicks will find a way to cure her through faith — and her generous financial contributions, doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), devastated because his wife left him, and attorney Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), who gave up her dream of advocating for the public good to follow her father as lawyer for the church. Her father also told her she had to be responsible for Cy, a young boy he brought home. Cy (Daryl McCormack) is now an adult, back living with Vera after a failed political campaign, and trying to make a comeback as an influencer, posting Wicks’ sermons.

This is a nicely toxic soup for what will turn out to be that favorite of mystery authors and fans, a locked door murder. A body is discovered in a locked alcove near the pulpit during a service with everyone in the pews as witnesses that the murder victim was the only one who entered. The sheriff shows up (Mila Kunis) and of course so does master murder-solver Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig).

Composer Nathan Johnson, as he did on the two previous films, enhances the story with evocative music, starting with screechy strings in the first scene and reaching for resolution.

As with the earlier films, there is some sharp commentary on contemporary culture, but the film is always respectful of Father Jud’s sincerity and his attempts to create a caring environment for the congregation. O’Conner continues to impress with his exceptional range and the precision of his characterization. Like the other two British actors, Scott and McCormack, he has an impeccable American accent. With so many characters, some are more clearly defined than others. Kunis and Washington do not get a chance to show much depth to thinly drawn roles, but Bridget Everett of “Somebody Somewhere” makes the most of a tiny part as an employee of a local company who has some crucial information for Blanc and Father Jud. Like the priest, we quickly move from irritation to empathy as she keeps him on the phone. And then we get to enjoy the twists and surprises. Can’t wait for the next one.

Parents should know that this is a murder mystery with violent deaths. Characters drink alcohol and there are references to a child born out of wedlock and an adult who is a drug abuser and has sex with many people. There are very explicit sexual references.

Family discussion: What drew each of the members of the congregation to Monsignor Jefferson Wicks? Why was Martha so loyal? What will Father Jud do next?

If you like this, try: the other “Knives Out” movies, Agatha Christie films like the original “Murder on the Orient Express,” “And Then There Were None,” and “Witness for the Prosecution,” as well as locked room classics like the one mentioned in the film, Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Posted on December 18, 2025 at 5:43 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 intense violence, bloody images, strong language, thematic elements, and suggestive material
Profanity:	MIld language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended peril and violence, guns, fire, bombs, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	December 19, 2025

A quick recap: long blue people mostly good, human people mostly not good. Humans from Earth want the resources of the blue people’s planet. The blue people (Na’vi) want to keep it peaceful and pristine. And sometimes the blue people fight with each other. And it takes 3 hours and 15 minutes.

You don’t need to remember every detail of the earlier films; if you have a vague recollection that you liked them, you will be fine because, like its predecessors, the visuals are stunning, the action is dynamic, the story is thin, and the dialogue is painfully basic, just barely enough to let you know who you’re supposed to root for. Cameron, who has said that he makes movies to finance his ocean adventures, loves water, and the water in this movie is simply gorgeous. The long blue people are, too. They all look like supermodels crossed with Mr. Fantastic. So if you did enjoy the earlier films, you will enjoy this one, too.

Next to the visual splendor, the other reason to watch the film is the villain. James Cameron emphasizes that the technique is not motion capture, but performance capture. Every actor playing one of the blue creatures performs every minute on screen, each one’s face covered with dots to guide the CGI. So, all credit to Oona Chaplin, the grand-daughter of Charlie Chaplin and great granddaughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill, for playing Varang, a ruthless bandit queen with magnetically sinuous menace. And with a head like a frilled-neck lizard. She wants to destroy the peaceful community where the hero of the first movie, human turned Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is settled with his wife, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and children, sons Neteyam (killed in the second film) and Lo’ak and a daughter called Tuk. They also adopted Kiri, mysteriously born from a human in an avatar body (the laws of biology as we know it don’t apply here), and they care for a loyal and limber human teenager called Spider (Jack Champion), the son of one of Jake’s most important foes, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).

Like Jake, Spider is completely at home in the world of the Na’vi, though he has to use a mask to enable him to breathe on the planet. He has no relationship with his biological father. Both of those elements will change over the course of the film, as Jake, Neytiri, and their family have to find a way to defend their community, even after Varang forms an alliance with Quaritch, meaning access to guns.

As this movie begins, Lo’ak and Neteyam are swimming together, at least in a dream of repeated goodbyes. Lo’ak is still suffering from survivor guilt and has a strained relationship with Jake beyond the typical teenage push for independence. Everyone in the family feels guilt along with grief.

There are some powerful emotional themes but they are explored in a not very powerful way. The issue of an outsider giving more powerful weapons to shift the balance of a conflict was explored with more insight in its episodes about the prime directive. Before the next one comes out, maybe they could spend some of the zillion dollar budget on dialogue better than “All this time and you still don’t get it. The world is much deeper than you imagine.” This film is less deep than it imagines. But very beautiful.

Parents should know that this film has extended peril and violence, including arrows, knives, guns, and explosives. Characters are injured and killed. There is a lot of intense family drama, with issues of biological and adoptive families. The military-industrial complex from Earth is represented by rapacious, murderous business employees and soldiers. Scientists are more compassionate. There is a non-explicit sexual situation and some sensual touching.

Family discussion: What are the options for a community being attacked by enemies with vastly superior weapons? What makes Spider feel accepted and what makes him feel like an outsider?

If you like this, try: the previous “Avatar” movies

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

Posted on November 13, 2025 at 5:18 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some strong language, violence and suggestive references
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Social drinking, drug reference
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and violence, character killed, references
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	November 14, 2025

Take this into account: I loved the first film in this series about the magicians who exchange quips as they dazzle audiences and outsmart international law enforcement, and I liked the second one a lot. So when I say that a better title might be: “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Think Too Hard,” that doesn’t mean I didn’t thoroughly enjoy this third in what is being set up to be a “Mission Impossible” or “Fast and Furious”-style franchise. It does mean that you will be more likely to enjoy yourself thoroughly if you don’t get distracted by questions of logics or physics. You know, like “Mission Impossible” and “Fast and Furious.”

To recap: In the first film, illusionist Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), mentalist/hypnotist
Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), lock-picker/pickpocket/card thrower Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and escape artist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) teamed up as The Horsemen to return a portion of a billionaire’s ill-gotten gains to some of the people he stole from, and they become members of the most secret, selective, and prestigious magic club in the world, called The Eye. In the second film, the three men are joined by Lula (Lizzy Caplan), replacing Henley, and the villain is the son of the villain from the first film.

The team has separated for many years, but they are reunited when they receive mysterious cards from The Eye, and they are joined by three young magicians who are likely being set-up to lead in episode 4, teased at the end of this film. The newcomers are stage performer Bosco (Dominic Sessa from “The Holdovers”), pickpocket June (Ariana Greenblatt the girl who was too old to play with Barbies in “Barbie”), and Charlie (Justice Smith from “Dungeons and Dragons: No Honor Among Thieves”), a magic nerd deeply immersed in the history of the art and craft of deception for entertainment who prefers to plan the illusions but remain behind the scenes. As with the previous films, the fun comes from the prickly banter, the fun of being fooled and then getting a peek at how the tricks are done, and the satisfaction of outsmarting a villain who deserves it.

And Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike) is every bit as worthy of being outsmarted as we could wish. She is the ruthless head of a South African diamond company, inherited from her father. Her diamonds are involved in laundering money for arms dealers and traffickers, and warlords. “She makes all the worst criminals possible.” (If that sounds like crypto, don’t think that gets left out.) There’s also some mention of the entire premise of the diamond business being based on abusive practices. And someone with a disguised voice keeps calling her about something very bad in her past that she does not want to be made public.

Veronika has a gigantic diamond called The Heart that is the size of a very large potato and she is scheduled to show it off at an exclusive formal gala. The Horsemen infiltrate and pull various tricks to steal The Heart. The Eye cards then lead them to a magnificent castle that is like a museum of magic, with puzzle rooms that include funhouse mirrors and M.C. Escher-style steps. Then there is a final confrontation, with more twists than there are in a family size box of fusilli. That includes some appearances by characters/performers from the previous films. The series is bending toward “Mission Impossible” (the TV series, not the movies) territory with its intricate illusions to triumph over bad guys and toward “Fast and Furious” with it’s “I don’t have friends; I have family” moments, and the globe-hopping of both. Plus Lady Gaga’s very apt “Abracadabra.”

Pike makes an excellent villain. She is a master of the mirthless smile. As she did in “Gone Girl,” she shows us the fiercely feral intelligence that is always clicking toward “winning” even as her face is a mask of civility. The four original Horsemen understand their characters and their chemistry and make the most of both and the new additions show a lot of promise. They tell us up front that everything that disappears, reappears. If indeed Sessa, Smith, and Greenblatt take over the lead roles in the next film, we’ll be happy to be fooled by them again.

Parents should know that this film has some strong language, a drug reference, peril, and violence including attempted murder and a sad death of a character.

Family discussion: What kind of magic do you most enjoy? What should the Horsemen do in the next chapter?

If you like this, try: The first two films, plus “Magic Camp” and the documentary “Make Believe”

TRON: Ares

Posted on October 7, 2025 at 1:44 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for violence and action
Profanity:	Brief strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended fantasy/sci-fi peril and violence, sad deaths of family members
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	October 10, 2025

The latest in the series about sentient characters in a digital world follows in the tradition of its two predecessors: the creativity is in the visuals, with very little in the storyline, and almost none in the characters and dialogue. The visuals are excellent, though, so if you see it, make sure to see it in IMAX.

The original “TRON” (1983) was inspired by the video games that were captivating a new generation (indeed, the video game it inspired out-grossed the film). Like its sequel, “TRON: Legacy” (2010), it took place mostly in a digital world. This movie, reflecting the cultural impact of the technologies that move much faster than we can comprehend or control them, shows us the wall between “real” and virtual is dissolving.

It begins with glimpses of various news broadcasts reporting on the developments at two huge software companies. One is ENCOM, where Jeff Bridges’ character Kevin Flynn worked in the earlier films. It was then led by the benign, public-spirited Kim sisters, who wanted to use technology to feed people, cure diseases, and “uplift humanity.” The other is Dillinger Systems, recently taken over by Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), grandson of the founder (the bad guy in the original film). Julian wants to use technology to create weapons, including AI soldiers who are vastly more capable than any human, and, this is a key value proposition, “100 percent expendable.” The enemy “kills” one? We’ll sell you more! And why not make these soldiers not just humanoid, but gorgeous humanoids? Thus, the sample AI-soldiers look just like Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Ares, played by Jared Leto, who says that the original film transfixed him when it first came out, and is a producer of this film

There’s just one problem that Julian manages to keep from the world leaders at his demo. The soldiers collapse into ash-like piles of code after just 29 minutes. If he is going to conquer the world, he needs to find the “permanence” code he suspects ENCOM has discovered. His mother, Elisabeth (a wasted Gillian Anderson) tries to warn him that he is being reckless, but he will not listen.

Meanwhile, Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is in fact discovering that code with the help of her assistant, Seth (Arturo Castro), on floppy disks left in a remote outpost by her late sister. Julian sends Ares and Athena to steal the code as characters — and code — go back and forth between the digital and analog worlds.

The visuals from production designer Darren Gilford) are dazzling, especially the motorcycles, ultra-modern and OG, the visualization of the cyber-heist, the action conflicts, the ribbons of light and a very cool winged flying contraption, though another flying thing that looks like something between goal posts on a football field and the Arc du Triomphe seems more dramatic than aerodynamic. The sound design is excellent, thanks to supervising sound editor Baard H. Ingebretsen and the whole sound department. The score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is also first-rate, as we expect from the impressively versatile Oscar winners.

It is frustrating to see this movie almost approach some of the real and fascinating questions of AI and then swerve away for yet another “Pinocchio” story about what makes a real boy, much more thoughtfully and provocatively explored in films like “Blade Runner,” and, in a way, by every movie because they are all about what makes us most human: love, compassion, curiosity, humor, the quest for making things better. I was much less interested in whether Ares would develop feelings beyond vocabulary than I am in what we do about characters like Julian, who are unconstrained by norms, or concern for anyone but himself. The script equivalent of the 29 minute AI soldier collapse is giving Julian and his mother less depth than an 8 bit NPC. Eve, Seth, and Ajay (Hasan Minhaj) are not much better, and it is truly a shame to see this exceptional performers given so little to work with. I mean, Tilly Norwood could have handled this just as well, which is a reflection on her limitations, not her capacity.

That includes dialogue like “Maybe there is something wrong with me.” “Maybe there is something right with you.”

I did laugh at Ares’ appreciation for Depeche Mode. This is an entity made from data who has absorbed every bit and byte of information since the world began including all of Eve’s text messages, and what Ares likes is the ineffable pull of 80s British synth-pop? (He manages a kind word for Mozart.)

Jeff Bridges does show up in beatifically magisterial and most welcome mode, playing a Wizard of Oz-like figure (Julian’s interface is strongly reminiscent of the fake Oz in the MGM version), reminding us that there are some things AI cannot match. So far.

Parents should know that this movie includes extended fantasy/sci-fi peril and action with some violence and two sad deaths of family members. There is brief strong language.

Family discussion: Who should monitor and control AI? If you went into the digital world, what would you do? Why did Ares say once was enough?

If you like this, try: the other “Tron” movies and the “Blade Runner” films

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Posted on September 11, 2025 at 5:17 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language and some sexual references
Profanity:	Strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Alcohol
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril and violence
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	September 12, 2025

Remember that iconic moment in “Amadeus” when Salieri composes a simple little piece in honor of Mozart’s arrival, and then, the greatest composer of all time, only 25 years old and incapable of imagining Salieri’s bitter jealousy, sits down to play the piece and cannot help turning it into something magical. I could not help thinking of that moment when the real-life Sir Paul McCartney, after a flawless faux interview where he, seemingly sincere, describes a very crude lyric from one of fictional metal group Spinal Tap’s songs as “lit-ra-tchure.” It is followed by the genuine look on his face when he struggles to appear to enjoy their rehearsal performance. Then he sits down at a piano to show them some suggested tweaks, which they immediately reject.

I did not expect a sequel to exceed or even meet the level of the original Spinal Tap movie, which ushered in the era of the mockumentary and remains, to my mind, in the top ten funniest and most quotable feature films of all time. But whether you are a fan who has seen the original multiple times or are coming to these characters with no preconceived notions (but come on, watch the original!), you will have a lot of fun at this one, like the first a take that perfectly balances comedy with authenticity down to the details and a deep, unqualified affection for the souls who just want to share their music with an audience. Hey, Ozzie Osborne said he didn’t laugh at the original because it was too close to the truth.

I’m not going to spoil the surprises, the visits with characters from the first film and cameos from real-life legends. I’ll just say that it is extremely funny and point out that on the poster the number 2 is represented by a close-up of one of the megaliths from Stonehenge.

“The End Continues” begins with the classic premise: getting the band back together. They have not spoken in years and all seem settled with projects they like. But when the daughter of their late manager discovers that she has inherited their contract, she books them for one last performance, in New Orleans.

As fans well know, the band has lost a number of drummers over the years, apparently 11 of them, so one of their first tasks, after three star drummers turn them down, is to audition prospects, find one brave enough to take the job (Valerie Franco) and then rehearse to get ready for the show.

That’s pretty much it, but we do not need anything else except to revisit some of our favorite moments from the first film. It’s great fun to get a reprise of “Listen to the Flower People,” and yes, Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) is still captivated by the possibilities of music technology. I hope the end does continue forever. Rock on, Nigel, David, and Derek, rock on!

Parent should know that this film has strong language, crude humor, sexual references, and bawdy lyrics.

Family discussion: What do the occupations of the musicians at the beginning of the film tell us about them? What real-life musicians do they resemble?

If you like this, try: the Christopher Guest films featuring many of these performers, including “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” and “A Mighty Wind”