One Battle After Another – 7.7

A propulsive story of domestic revolution that is eerily prescient in Trump’s America. Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti (as the young Willa) are beyond superb and the action scenes and cast of thousands are directed seamlessly. The hole in the middle, though, is Leonardo DiCaprio, never my favorite actor. We don’t care for his goofball character and ultimately wonder why all the fuss is being made over him. The plot, with its strong echoes of realism, goes off the rails near the end, but by that time we have enjoyed quite a ride.

Fall Theater ’25

Let’s Love  Three hilarious playlets by Ethan Coen (of the Coen brothers) that are so wonderfully raunchy the evening would more appropriately have been called “Let’s Have Sex.” Aubrey Plaza is merely the best of a fine crew of actors, while a delicious off-Broadway troubadour serenades between sets. The humor comes from each character’s own hangups, and everyone gets a happy ending. Or at least sex.

This Much I Know Brilliantly conceived, staged, directed and acted, the story was an intellectual challenge that I failed. Framed by a psychology lecture on how the mind works (thinks? decides?), three distinct stories were interweaved by three actors playing multiple parts, even shifting mid-sentence. The result was a puzzle I kept waiting to piece together, at the expense of emotional connection.

Are the Bennet Girls Ok?  A peppery adaptation of the most-loved novel in the English language, with period costumes, contemporary mannerisms and a cast of eight women to one man. The very woke casting gave the show a somewhat amateurish feel, but it didn’t detract from everyone’s fun.

Tartuffe  Another informal production, this one inside an UES townhouse, could be called Moliere on Ham and Cheese. The style was slapstick, the rhyming dialogue hard to hear, the plot a relic. The absence of the star, Andre De Shields as Tartuffe, only added to the silliness.

Little Bear Ridge Road Laurie Metcalf’s brilliant portrayal of a crotchety Idaho spinster unfortunately ran up against co-star Micah Stock’s aggressively unpleasant gay crybaby nephew. James’s love for Stock’s Ethan defied credulity, as did the ambiguous story ending. Still, there was Laurie Metcalf.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – 6

Like looking at a favorite old scrapbook. No problems were introduced without quickly apparent solutions that enabled one and all to live happily ever after (at least until further collapse of the British Empire).

Highest 2 Lowest – 5

A clunky movie. Denzel Washington was neither believable nor interesting as a record company executive (think Berry Gordy), and we had to watch him the entire movie. A rare misfire by Spike Lee, based on a Kurosawa film that wasn’t that great to begin with.

Thursday Murder Club – 5

A faithful re-creation for the screen of Richard Osman’s charming novel, unfortunately without its charm. Too much plot, too little air for the characters to breathe, and too recognizable actors in the roles, with Pierce Brosnan especially out of place.

Americana. – 8

What distinguishes America, according to a character in this movie, is “imagination,” which might be another word for greed. Director Tony Tost gives us an array of mid- to low-lifes, the kind you might find at a remote Badlands diner, in a smart, funny take on American dreams, in the language of Quentin Tarantino, which probably accounts for the title’s punctuation. Sydney Sweeney in the Shelly Duvall role and Halsey as Joan Jett are superb. This was my kind of Tuesday afternoon movie.

Sorry, Baby – 7

Very indie. Writer/director/star Eva Victor is charmingly quirky (or quirkily charming?) as an English professor (really?), her inexplicable bff (Naomie Ackie) not so much. The random chapters reminded me of a collection of ’60s-era New Yorker short stories. Once I got over the seeming aimlessness and screechy sound I settled in and felt proud to be enjoying myself.

Weapons – 7.5

This six-chapter horror film had me alternately cringing in my seat and laughing out loud. Writer/director Zach Cregger adroitly handled the mashup of quotidian and supernatural with a style that was engaging and captivating and kept you from questioning the absurdity of it all, right up to the explosive ending. Josh Brolin and Julia Garner made their characters real, while Amy Madigan handled the other.

F1 – 7.8

It was formulaic, but why shouldn’t it be? It’s fun to immerse yourself in a different world, and Formula 1 is that.  Not understanding the sport, I couldn’t tell how accurate it was or even understand what was happening, which was probably a plus. Instead I could just admire Brad Pitt being Brad Pitt, the gorgeous maverick outsider with a troubled past and a soft heart. Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon command the screen as well. Great cinematography and good score too.

Superman – 3

Silly. Not a lot of laughs (one chuckle) and the rest was ridiculous.