I mildly recommend it as well. There are a lot of cameos and they are fun. It isn’t great cinema and the jokes aren’t the funniest, but it does come together pretty well imo. Your liking for it likely hinges on being able to tolerate two Vince Vaughns (spoiler).
Party Monster
This is an odd one. The movie is based on the murder of Angel Melendez. Macaulay Culkin stars as Michael Alig, Seth Green is James St. James, Chloe Sevigny, Wilson Cruz, Dylan McDermott, and Wilmer Valderrama costar. Michael and James are Club Kids in the New York 90s club scene, Michael’s like spins out of control due to excesses and drug use, leading to the murder mentioned above. Interesting story but it’s hard to identify with the characters, I think.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part III
The third documentary from Penelope Spheeris about LA music scene, this one focuses on the “gutter punk” lifestyle of homeless kids in 1998. I found it very interesting that the things these people were saying on stage at punk shows then are all very real and so much worse in 2026. I also felt very bad for these kids, all of them had a troubled upbringing – notably abuse from their parents. These kids turned to alcohol and drugs to stem the pain and they took care of each other but it’s a horrible way to live a life. At the end of the movie, I did want to know more about the interviewees.
We watched Zootopia (2016) and Zootopia 2 (2025) back to back. The second takes place immediately after the first. It covers more of the history of the world, and then solves a mystery in that past. It does a decent job continuing the previous characters and establishing new ones. There’s plenty of plot turns, but nothing entirely unpredictable. Overall, I liked the sequel, but it’s not quite as good as the original; mostly because the original is excellent, and holds up well.
The Shakira song in the sequel “Zoo” isn’t as catchy as the original’s “Try Everything”, but it is a catchy dance tune. There are a few pokes at other Disney movies in several, which are fun if you don’t blink.
These movies, although made for entertainment, have some great themes about the destructiveness of racism. Maybe the animal characters and pop songs have let it fly under the radar; I see they both had over a billion in box office.
I’ve been disappointed in most movies I’ve seen (or re-seen) recently. Last night I watched To Catch a Thief and, aside from admiring the deep tans on Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, I was bored to death. Not much of a plot (they could have revealed who was actually the Cat as nearly everybody in the cast and it would have made as much sense). The previous night, I watched King’s Row and couldn’t get through it–apparently, it was based on a “scandalous” novel of the early 20th century (meaning not very scandalous at all) and they cleaned it up until there was nothing left, just vague innuendo and implied possibilities. A young Ron Reagan played one of the parts, supposedly well, but I cut out just as he was making his first appearances–the film begins with a prologue about most of the characters as young kids and it was too much golly gee geewhillikers for me. Very lame.
I did enjoy Blue Moon, though, mainly for the parade of near-celebrities and future celebs who encounter Larry Hart on the night of the opening of Oklahoma written by his former partner Richard Rodgers, collaborating for the first time with Oscar Hammerstein,. Hart mocks its sappiness behind their backs and praises it to their faces. I’m fond of Oklahoma (having been one of the great 12 year old Curlies in my sixth-grade production) but I enjoyed the mockery.
I thoroughly agree with you. It’s second-rate Hitchcock. That movie could have been directed by anyone, and with two headliners like Grant and Kelly, it would have been boffo at the box-office. There’s no real mystery there. You can pretty much guess who’s the real cat burglar early on, and it drags on forever. Hitch made some great films, but also some stinkers. It’s not that bad, but in the Hitchcock canon, it was just a light entertainment and nothing more.
Pretty Lethal (2026) on Prime
Five American ballerinas vs a hotel full of east European goons. That’s pretty much it. Oh yeah, Uma Thurman’s in it. I’ve spent 90 minutes watching dumber things.
Agreed. It’s IMDb rating of 5.2 is ridiculous – it deserved much more than that. Its main drawback is that except for Margaret Qualley most of the characters are sleazy and unlikeable, living in a dumpy, dusty town that is equally unlikeable, giving the whole thing a very dark feel. Still, you can’t go wrong with Ethan Coen (or his brother Joel, and preferably both of them).
Primal Fear (1996). Mainly a legal drama/thriller with an all-star cast including Richard Gere as a hot-shot lawyer, Laura Linney as chief prosecutor, Edward Norton as a young man who may or may not be responsible for the brutal murder of a bishop, Frances McDormand as a psychiatrist, and John Mahoney as a powerful local politician. Skillfully put together and fine performances by all, especially Richard Gere and a young Edward Norton, the latter receiving numerous accolades. Highly recommended.
This one is more of a fair fight. Nothing supernatural. And many more goons. Ballerinas are just really tough because of the conditioning their training puts them through. It takes more than a little inspiration from Uma in the House of Blue Leaves.
My husband and I watched Weapons last night. We went in not knowing anything about it. I didn’t watch the Oscars. I had no idea it was a horror movie. I like some horror, but my husband isn’t a big fan. We both really liked this movie. It had just enough creepiness and kept us guessing for quite a while.
My only complaint - the scenes in the dark were really hard to watch. I’m guessing that was intentional, but I was really straining to see what was going on.
Jeez yes. I reviewed it some time ago after watching it on a tiny airline seat back monitor. I kept trying to adjust my position/anything as the scenes were BLACK.
It was fine in the theater for us. We watched it on HBO in a darkened room and it was slightly harder to see, but clear enough (but then, I knew what was happening).
Another reason I often watch movies in bed on my tablet. My short-sighted vision without glasses produces a theatrical large-screen effect, and the tablet image is nice and bright even at normal settings. I had no issue with the dark scenes in Weapons. Love my tablet!
