Dustin Chase

Up front, this is a stupid movie, but you knew that from the poster or trailer. It's also one of those rare times where stupidity and acute creativity coalesce into one bonkers project. Director David Wain (“Wet Hot American Summer”) and writer/co-star Ken Marino have devised a story around making fun of the very industry they work in. No celebrity is safe in “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.” How many stars appear in the film is only one of its many surprises. While the raunchy comedy is filled to the brim with Hollywood jokes, some might play too inside the industry. Comparables for this film would be “Nurse Betty” or the comedic bits of “Scream 3”.

At the end of most Christopher Nolan films, the leading man (he has yet to do a film with a female in the lead) has a moment of “what have

From the director of “Barb and Star” and “Strays” comes another movie with more snickers and sneers than laughs. Josh Greenbaum’s “The Dink” is both making fun of pickleball as

Looking for stimulating counter-programming to the latest superhero film this weekend? Gregg Araki’s first major film after a twelve-year absence screams for attention with that title, along with Olivia Wilde’s

If you were unfortunate enough to sit through Eli Roth’s last film “Borderlands” (2024), you know exactly how bad his films can get. “Borderlands,” starring Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee

The new dramedy from director Julia Hart (“I'm Your Woman”) is a modest coming-of-age story featuring an impressive performance from Sunny Sandler. Produced by Adam Sandler and Justin Horowitz, “Don't Say Good Luck” is a real showcase of the younger Sandler's talents; voice and singing ability especially. The film is also a reminder of how a presence like Melanie Lynskey (“Ever After”) can elevate a film. The script evenly balances high school musical drama with the reality of cancer without ever allowing itself to become too silly or too serious on either side of the pendulum. “Don't Say Good Luck” also provides encouraging talking points for families who might experience the film together.

One of the year's most full-hearted films, “The Rivals of Amziah King” lets you know very early on you are watching something special. Writer and director Andrew Patterson's colorful and non-traditional screenplay is one of the best in recent memory. This comedy that melts into a heist film that just keeps turning genres and discovering new ones along the way is full of life, smiles, joy and community. It's a real human spirit lifter. Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey takes the audience on such a harmonious ride in the first hour. His performance is the most classic McConaughey thing he has done in years. After the first few minutes of his unforgettable performance, you couldn't fathom anyone else injecting this guy with the kind of energy McConaughey taps into.

Writer/director Kent Jones made his directorial debut back in 2018 with the sobering film “Diane.” It was bare-bones filmmaking, but a dramatic acting vehicle for Mary Kay Place that had lots of Oscar buzz. Jones' second feature “Late Fame” is another deep character study, focusing on an individual in the later part of their life. Four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe gives an energetic performance (when does he not) as a forgotten New York writer who is “re-discovered” by a group of wealthy college students. The script is purposefully heady and pretentious, so Dafoe's stripped-down humble performance can ground the film.

“Top Gun” is a prerequisite for “Mayday.” It’s rare for a new film to be written around a retro classic, and its effect on the cinema zeitgeist. In the case

The original “Practical Magic” film was no masterpiece. You could argue (and many did) it wasn’t even very good. Yet it’s a film that, for some of us, put a