Steve Stebbing

New Releases:

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes – The story of Coriolanus Snow, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem. He is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, Coriolanus sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games only to have his elation dashed when he is assigned to mentor a girl tribute named Lucy Gray Baird from the impoverished District 12.

Expectations: I can’t say that the bar I have set for my levels of excitement on this prequel is very high as the last two Hunger Games films, the Mockingjay two-parter, left me bored and looking for the exit. The job once again falls on franchise staple Francis Lawrence to bring it together again and, funny enough, the advance reviews are pretty solid for it so far. The film has a solid cast of character performers including Viola Davis, Jason Schwartzman and Peter Dinklage so I do have some interest in seeing it pan out. I am a little leary of its runtime which is over two and a half hours. I feel like there might be some bloat there.

Trolls Band Together – After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) are now officially, finally, a couple (#broppy)! As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favourite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Golden Globe-nominated electropop sensation Troye Sivan), John Dory (Eric André; Sing 2), Spruce (Grammy winner Daveed Diggs; Hamilton) and Clay (Grammy winner Kid Cudi; Don’t Look Up). BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hadn’t seen his brothers since. But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains–Velvet (Emmy winner Amy Schumer; Trainwreck) and Veneer (Grammy winner and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells; The Book of Mormon)–Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.

Expectations: I mean, what can you really expect from any of these movies as the last one released was during the pandemic theatre shutdown? They took a classic toy and made it a vehicle for catchy musical movies that usually push a new Justin Timberlake single. Well, the only difference this time around is JT has reformed N*SYNC for a new single to drive this film and possibly get caught in the Top 40 hits until you hear it ad nauseam. So far, that’s only been true of the first film though. Nicely animated but not memorable if you are an adult.

Next Goal Wins – Story of the American Samoa soccer team, who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history, losing to Australia 31-0 in 2001. With the 2014 World Cup approaching, the team recruits a down on his luck, maverick coach (Fassbender) to help turn their fate around.

Expectations: The internet has seemed to tire of the works of New Zealand filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi but his charm still has an effect on me and I have been looking forward to the next non-Marvel enterprise from him and it happens to pair him with the brilliant Michael Fassbender, just a week removed from the fantastic Fincher flick he did on Netflix, The Killer. All of his films in his native country have been fun and memorable and I don’t really see him messing up his own tried tested and true formula. His last one, The Hunt For The Wilderpeople is one of my favorites from the past ten years so I’m excited for this one.

Thanksgiving – After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts — the birthplace of the holiday. Picking off residents one by one, what begins as random revenge killings are soon revealed to be part of a larger, sinister holiday plan. Will the town uncover the killer and survive the holidays… or become guests at his twisted holiday dinner table?

Expectations: This is a cool one to me because it joins Machete in the club of films made from the fake trailers in the Grindhouse double feature of Planet Terror and Death Proof and it was made by a filmmaker who very much is a student of the game, writer and director Eli Roth. Granted, films like the remake of Death Wish make me less inspired to praise him but this movie looks like an 80s slasher and the gore will definitely be present, something this director is known for. 

Rustin – The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten. Directed by DGA Award and five-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe and starring Emmy Award winner Colman Domingo, Rustin shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world, and inspired a movement in a march toward freedom.

Expectations: A story of this importance should be elevated and celebrated, much like Selma was a handful of years ago, but, much like Mudbound from a few years back, when released on Netflix, they get buried. Colman Domingo, known for his major role in Fear The Walking Dead, is gunning for an Academy Award in this film and may find himself in the running as his performance as Bayard Rustin is raw and charged, driving the film with great direction from George C. Wolfe in his follow up to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom which, sadly, was Chadwick Boseman’s final performance. If you’ve seen and enjoyed that one, you’ll like this one even more.

The Stones And Brian Jones – Featuring revealing interviews with all the main players and unseen archive released for the first time, The Stones and Brian Jones explores the creative musical genius of Jones, key to the success of the band, and uncovers how the founder of what became the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world was left behind in the shadows of history.

Review: I’m a sucker for a good music documentary, nothing shocking if you follow this blog at all, but when it’s put in the hands of filmmaker Nick Broomfield, the writer and director of Whitney Houston in Whitney: Can I Be Me and Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, well, the excitement grows because I know the quality will be there. Being a Beatles guy my whole life, it took my adult years to appreciate the Stones but my knowledge about them with Jones leading them is hazy so this film fills in the blanks beautifully. I will still say that Exile On Main Street is my forever Stones record, one that had no touch of Jones inclusion to it.

Albert Brooks: Defending My Life – Since the late 1960s, Albert Brooks has been a major force in American comedy with his smart, sometimes absurdist, and truly unique sense of humor. From stand-up, to acting, to writing and directing short films, to his seven, iconic, original motion pictures, including “Modern Romance,” “Lost in America,” “Mother,” and more, Brooks has paved the way for future generations and remains a comedic force in a league of his own. With testimonials from some of the brightest comedy talents and serious thinkers, as well as family and friends, This film chronicles Brooks’ very early work all the way to present day. In this deep and personal conversation, Reiner and Brooks explore the origins and evolution of Brooks’ career, the impetus for his creativity, and the impact he has had on the world of comedy.

Expectations: I feel like I’m getting biopic gifts this week because I got a music one and now a comedy one, focusing on an absolute legend and, like the Stones, one that I had to get more mature to enjoy. Albert Brooks is a really special talent that has formed many of the comedic minds you see today, through his films and brilliant writing and the guy has deserved his flowers for years. Now, with the help of director, fellow legend and best friend of Albert, Rob Reiner, he gets them and it really is a phenomenal film that fans should get into immediately.

Blu-Ray:

The Equalizer 3 – After giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

Expectations: As a big fan of the first Equalizer film, I have to preface my thoughts on this third one by saying that I really disliked the second installment and don’t really see this follow-up being earned. Still, Denzel is always a great presence on the big screen and sequels are definitely not his regular jam as Equalizer 2 was the first one he ever did. He must love doing this Robert McCall role and dispatching bad guys effortlessly. Those parts are really cool to see, super gory and violent and are probably the highlight of each film. I also like that there is a Man On Fire reunion in this film with Denzel and co-star Dakota Fanning.

The Nun II – A follow-up to the enigmatic gothic horror about a strong evil that haunts and causes supernatural harm to everybody it comes into contact with. After the events of the first film, the said powerful evil begins to spread in 1956 throughout a town in France as word gets out that a priest has been violently murdered. A finished contemplative in her novitiate, Sister Irene, begins to investigate the murder, only to find a demon behind it — the same evil that terrorized her in the original film as a nun — Valak, whom she once again soon comes to encounter.

Expectations: Time to get that pre-Christmas horror chill on at home. We all know that this film only serves to further the expanded universe of James Wan’s Conjuring universe as Bonnie Aaron’s Valak character first appeared in the second of those films. I will say that the first film benefited from a great creepy monster performance from Aaron and I love Demian Bechir a lot but it is now up to Taissa Farmiga to carry the franchise and she is pretty capable of doing that, much like her mom does with the mothership franchise. I also find it interesting that Aaron is suing Warner Bros. when this is being released for profiting off her likeness without compensation. Sounds like one of those issues that the strike that just ended was about to me. I hope Bonnie really stuck it or sticks it to them.

The Fog Of War – Former corporate whiz kid Robert McNamara was the controversial Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, during the height of the Vietnam War. This Academy Award-winning documentary, augmented by archival footage, gives the conflicted McNamara a platform on which he attempts to confront his and the U.S. government’s actions in Southeast Asia in light of the horrors of modern warfare, the end of ideology and the punitive judgment of history.

Review: Famed documentarian Errol Morris made his crowning achievement with this film, a documentary that should be required viewing in schools. Winner of the Best Documentary Academy Award that year, beating out another great film, Capturing The Friedmans, this film is an incredible look at the unspoken callousness of navigating the Cold War while also bringing to light just what made McNamara such a polarizing figure in his tenure for both administrations and just how different both approaches were. This is the definition of a must-see film.

Guarding Tess – Doug is a Secret Service Agent who has just completed his stint in charge of protecting Tess Carlisle, widow of a former U.S. President, and close personal friend of the President. He finds that she has requested that he not be rotated but instead return to be her permanent detail. Doug is crushed. He wants off her detail. She is very difficult to guard and makes her detail crazy with her whims and demands. Doug returns with no idea of how to continue dealing with her.

Review: Heck yes, another Nicolas Cage entry on this blog! It’s also not just a classic Blu-ray release but one of Cage’s endearing roles in his career alongside an absolute legend in Shirley MacLaine. I remember seeing this film originally on VHS with my dad and really loving it. The chemistry between the stars plays to both of their great qualities, with Cage’s suave charm and Shirley absolutely glowing with every line. The film comes from writer and director Hugh Wilson who was so prevalent in Hollywood films from the eighties, with Police Academy and Burglar, and with only one other great film in the nineties, Blast From The Past. This one should really go in that underrated bucket I think.

Short Circuit 2 – Having rescued robot Johnny Five (Tim Blaney) from being destroyed by the military in “Short Circuit,” Indian scientist Ben Jahrvi (Fisher Stevens) moves to New York City to become an American citizen. After struggling to sell a few toy replicas of Johnny, Ben must scramble to make more when Sandy Banatoni (Cynthia Gibb) orders 1,000 for her department store. With Johnny’s help, Ben begins making the gadgets, but his plans are endangered when thief Oscar Baldwin (Jack Weston) steals Johnny.

Review: As a kid, I was totally obsessed with both of these movies, watched the first film endlessly and even caught this one in theatres back in 1988 at the age of six with my mom. I loved them then but I can definitely recognize how they haven’t aged very well, especially with white actor Fisher Stevens essentially doing brown face to portray East Indian character Ben Jahveri. These films are so much fun, Johnny 5 was a kid’s icon at the time which would have sold a million units easily if he was real and to experience it all over again on Blu-ray at home in 2023 is kind of special.

Steve’s Blu-Ray Geekouts:

Kiss The Girls 4K – Alex Cross, a Washington D.C. cop and forensic psychologist learns that his niece who is going to college in North Carolina is missing. So he goes there and learns that the police think she’s among the victims of someone who kidnaps young girls and holds them captive and kills them who dubs himself Cassanova after the great lover. Later Kate, one of his victims, escapes and tries to help Cross find his niece.

Review: James Patterson is a fantastic author with many great mysteries under his belt and a solid investigative character in Alex Cross but sadly only one good adaptation has come out of his work, within the four that have been made, and this is that one. Morgan Freeman is so commanding in the role of Cross and the twists and turns of the Cassanova mystery work so well on the big screen and now in 4K. It’s also my favourite film in director Gary Fleder’s career, with Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead, his previous film, as a runner-up. This is another great opportunity to relive this great thriller or to take it in for the first time. It’s absolutely worth it.

George & Tammy – The limited-series chronicles the country music power couple, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, whose complicated (but enduring) relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time. Remembered as the “First Lady of Country Music,” Wynette’s most successful song “Stand by Your Man” remains one of the most iconic and best-selling country singles by a female artist. George Jones’ song “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” is still widely called the greatest country song of all time. With over 30 number-one country songs between them, including duets “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Golden Ring” and “Near You,” George and Tammy’s legacy, both musically and romantically, remains one of the greatest love stories ever told.

Review: Jessica Chastain seems to be forming a collection of real like Tammys because, after winning an Academy Award for playing Tammy Faye Bakker, she is now turning her sights on Tammy Wynette, this time in series form. She is in good company though again as Michael Shannon co-stars with her as one of the greatest country superstars of all time. With over 30 number-one country songs between them, I definitely can say that I’m not super familiar with them, not being a fan of the genre at all, but I recognize their mark on it and it is interesting to see how it’s told and that they don’t hold back on some of the vitriol in their disagreements, to put it mildly.

The Black Phone 4K – North Denver, 1978. As the dreadful infamy of the stealthy child abductor known as The Grabber spreads across the city, terrorising its residents, tight-knit siblings Finney and Gwen live in fear of two things: the masked serial killer and their abusive father. When the monstrous Grabber kidnaps yet another defenceless boy, two local detectives embark on a time-sensitive mission to shed light on the knotty child disappearance cases, trying to piece insubstantial evidence together. However, the disconnected black rotary telephone on the wall of the deranged kidnapper’s well-soundproofed basement keeps ringing. But who’s on the other end of the line?

Review: A pandemic rescheduled film for theaters, this horror from writer and director Scott Derrickson was on my most anticipated movies list for a long time, ever since I saw the trailer, and it is rooted in the uber-creepy performance from a masked Ethan Hawke. It also is because Derrickson is a master of scaring you out of your seat, as is evident in one of the scariest films of all time, his chiller Sinister. Adapting the work of acclaimed writer Joe Hill, the son of the master of horror literature, Stephen King, Derrickson and co-writer Robert Cargill have cooked up something special and wildly original that consistently sends shivers down your spine in story reveals and twists with scares that don’t feel forced and contrived. I also have to praise all of the kid actors who are just phenomenal in this film, as the youth can sometimes be a make or break to these horror thrillers.

Television:

The Crown: Season 6 (Netflix) – This show focuses on Queen Elizabeth II as a young newlywed faced with leading the world’s most famous monarchy while forging a relationship with legendary Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The British Empire is in decline, the political world is in disarray, but a new era is dawning. Peter Morgan’s masterfully-researched scripts reveal the Queen’s private journey behind the public façade with daring frankness. Prepare to see into the coveted world of power and privilege behind the locked doors of Westminster and Buckingham Palace.

Expectations: The beginning of the end is here as we draw to a close on this biopic series of the Winsors with a definite focus on Princess Diana but more notably the romance of her oldest child, William and his future wife Kate Middleton. The question is, with the death of the Queen within the last year, something that shut down the show’s production out of respect, will this series close in that same way? Will we cover the whole Harry and Megan aspect of the royals’ scandals? It is all so fascinating to me and I’ve loved every episode of the show so it is a bittersweet thing for me to see it end.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix) – The titular slacker and in a garage band named Sex Bob-omb with his friends. His life is turned upside down when he meets Ramona Flowers, an American girl who is recently single. But before their love can blossom, Pilgrim finds himself challenged by his love’s seven previous relationships, and must defeat them in over-the-top fashion.

Review: This is the reunion I never knew that I wanted but here we are, with a companion animated series to one of my favourite films of all time and one of the best comic book adaptations ever made. Now completely under the eye of original creator and Canadian Bryan Lee O’Malley, we get an expanded and wholly new take on the romance of slacker Scott and dream girl Ramona Flowers as well as expanded roles from the rest of the fantastic cast involved. I have loved every moment I have watched and I know it is something I will return to again and again. I’m not just a fanboy when I say it’s that damn good.

Julia: Season 2 (Crave) – Inspired by Julia Child’s extraordinary life and her show The French Chef, which essentially invented food television.

Expectations: I feel sad that an HBO show has entered its second season this week and I’m just hearing about its existence. I’m especially sad because the show is way better than I had initially thought it would be and Sarah Lancashire is the big reason why. Known for her years of work on Happy Valley, she is an incredible Julia Child and totally outdoes the performance that Meryl Streep gave in 2009, one that earned her an Oscar nomination. I also love that both David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth are in this, deep Frasier connection. They are both fantastic in this too.

Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters (AppleTV+) – After the world-shattering revelation that monsters are real, two siblings follow in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch.

Expectations: I have been waiting for this series to land ever since it was announced and now, after taking in the first episode, I can officially say that I love it. Spread across a splintered timeline, we see the discovery of these titan creatures, the throws of the battle between them and the aftermath of living in their destructive wake. The special effects are awesome and make you want to turn your stereo system to eleven for every boom, immersing yourself in the story. I also love that Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell play the same character, decades apart, something I’ve wanted from the father and son ever since Wyatt took up acting. I’m now calling for a continuation of The Thing with Wyatt as McCready.

A Murder At The End Of The World (Disney+) – In Retreat, which puts a new spin on the classic whodunit, Darby and 11 other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire to participate in a retreat at a remote and dazzling location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must fight to prove it was murder against a tide of competing interests and before the killer takes another life.

Expectations: A Gen Z murder mystery featuring a young sleuth played by The Crown actress Emma Corrin? Yes, count me in because my Veronica Mars sense is tingling and I believe this may be a darker take on that style of a murder investigation. The show also features actor Harris Dickinson, known recently from the wild comedy Triangle Of Sadness but will probably be involved in awards talk when the wrestling biopic The Iron Claw hits theatres, I have all kinds of excitement for this show as it comes from creators Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling who did The OA for Netflix. This is going to be awesome I think.