Sovereign (2025). Wow! Extremely under-rated on IMDb, but has a deserved 94% critics’ rating on RT. Nick Offerman plays a widowed single father who is a classic unrelenting sovereign citizen and tries to instill those values in his son, played by Jacob Tremblay who years earlier had played a much younger child in Wonder (2017). Both turn in terrific performances. Now older, Tremblay plays a home-schooled adolescent whose plans to start attending a normal high school are tragically thwarted by his father’s craziness.
Very, very well done all around, terrific writing and acting, and emotionally powerful. The movie captures the mindset of the sovereign citizen perfectly. The worst that one might say about it is that some of it is inevitably predictable, not just because sovcits never end up in a good place, but there are some scenes that are clearly setups for what is to follow. But I didn’t care – this is a very absorbing drama, and very highly recommended. It’s also billed as “inspired by true events” which adds an additional element of interest.
The Bucket List (2017). Poignant, thoughtful, and melancholy film about death and self-discovery, with great performances by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Directed by Rob Reiner. Highly recommended.
At this point Sovereign is only available on Blu-ray or DVD or can be purchased or rented from any of the usual platforms (Amazon, Apple TV, etc.). It’s not yet streaming anywhere that I know of.
What We HIde (2025). Explores the love of two young sisters left alone after their mother dies of an opioid overdose. To avoid being separated by CPS and sent separately into the adoption system, the two girls, 15 and 10, conspire to keep their mother’s death a secret, hiding her body in a chest in a shed on their rural property and subsisting on welfare. This is not a spoiler – the mother’s death occurs within the first few minutes of the start of the film, there’s no big lead-up to this.
A quietly understated drama at first, this is a slow burn that packs an emotional punch as it proceeds. Terrific acting by the two kids. Yet another movie under-rated by the dumbasses at IMDb but RT gets it right with an 80% critics’ rating and 98% audience rating. Perhaps not a cinematic masterpiece, but well worth your time.
Night of the Comet 1984 Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney
Sci-fi Zombies. yes!
Most of the population were outside watching a comet. Nothing left except their clothing and dust.
Many of the survivors turned into Zombies. A few remained normal and they are trying to avoid the zombies and capture by evil scientists.
It’s a cult classic. I enjoy the 80’s perms and clothing. Many of the cars and other props are vintage early 80’s. The visit to a mall from 1984 is full of vintage goodness.
79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
It’s pg-13 and fairly safe for family viewing. Some intense violence. Be prepared to answer the kids questions about the bulky wireless phones with stubby antennas.
Sorcerer (1977, Prime rental) I had inexplicably never seen it, but nearly every cinephile loves it so it’s been on various watch lists of mine for a decade. A week ago it showed up on Stephen King’s top 10 favorite films and since it’s also rated PG that clinched it and my young son and I took the plunge.
PG meant something different in the 70’s, I’ll tell you that much. It was good, I’m glad I saw it, but I don’t need to ever see it again or sing it’s praises.
For the theme Man Versus Nature, I prefer Werner Herzog.
Great film, though the first hour is a bunch of unrelated events that set up the main story. That story, though, was one impressive bit of filming with some scenes that must have been really challenging to do. Contrary to what the title and Stephen King’s endorsement might lead one to believe, it has nothing to do with the supernatural.
I usually have no interest in musical biopics but A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan movie was an exception. (It’s available for Streaming on Disney/Hulu with no commercial interruptions.) It was great. The three leads (playing Dylan, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez) played their own instruments and sang their own songs in addition to playing the characters believably. Dylan was portrayed as the self-absorbed shit I’ve always presumed him to be. Watch it for the music if nothing else!
Note that this is usually considered a remake of the 1953 French film The Wages of Fear. Others prefer to describe it as another film adaptation of the 1950 novel Le Salaire de la peur by Georges Arnaud. I’ve seen both the 1977 version and the 1973 version, but I haven’t read the novel. They’re both interesting. Someone should make a movie about Georges Arnaud’s life. He was accused of three murders and spent nineteen months in prison where he was neglected and left to almost starve and freeze (because it was the middle of World War II in France). He was finally tried on the murders and acquitted. It was after that point that he was the novel:
Wait Until Dark (1967). The title may sound like a spooky horror movie, but this is actually a powerful psychological thriller developed from a stage play. Stars Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., with a terrific performance by Hepburn. I tend to associate Arkin with his brilliantly funny role as the hapless dentist in The In-Laws, so it was strange to see him portray the worst of the bad guys here.
As a favour for a woman he just met on a flight from Montreal to JFK, a man temporarily takes possession of a doll she is carrying, unaware that it contains a fortune worth of heroin. While he’s out of town, his blind wife (Hepburn) is terrorized by three criminals trying to get the doll back, which she is initially unable to find because a little girl neighbour has taken it.
TBH, during the first half-hour or so I was wondering why the hell I was watching this and whether it might turn out to be an absolutely terrible movie. This was partly because it gets off to a somewhat slow start, and I think partly because of a sort of dated vibe – 1967 was a long time ago! But the movie was rated very highly and featured big-name stars so I stuck with it, and was glad I did. It turns into a tense thriller as the Hepburn character fights for her life as she gradually learns the truth about the deceptions being foisted on her, with her only help being a little girl who’s her upstairs neighbour.
I thought this movie would be fast-tracked when Hunger Games came out. It isn’t the same thing, but has a similar concept of a dystopian world where people play a Battle Royale(sort of) style game and only one winner lives.
Instead of fighting, though, they walk. 3MPH for as long as they can walk, no finish line. Just walk until only one is left walking. Winner gets a bunch of money. Rest are dead(shot dead if they stop too much).
Some good acting, interesting interactions, and a decent mix of personalities in the competition. The movie is wise to almost immediately begin the walking. No huge build-up. We learn a little, but not a ton about all the walkers.
All things said, it’s a pretty good movie. Not great, mind you. Just really good and a solid watch. This won’t make my top 10 this year, but it might be an honorable mention.
yes!