Grand Theft Parsons (2003)

Released June 18 , 2004 in the US.

Filmed entirely in California.

Based on truths.

The story : 1973 , Joshua Tree , California.

26-year-old musician Gram Parsons has just overdosed in his room at the Joshua Tree Inn.

A woman spending time with him and freaking out that he is dead makes a frantic phone call to Gram's best friend and road manager , Phil Kaufman.

Phil instantly begins setting in motion a plan that stemmed from a pact between the two friends.

The pact is that when one of them dies , the other is to burn his friends body in the desert of Joshua Tree...

Phil cannot give up on this pact and will not.

Without telling anyone about what he is up to , Phil rents a hurse that comes along with a driver who happens to own the hurse, steals Grams body from an airport where Gram's stepfather is to pick it up and proceeds to get Grams' body out to Joshua Tree.

The pact proves to be not an easy task , causing much confusion and chaos , but Phil perserveres.

Stars Gabriel Macht , Danielle Sapia , Johnny Knoxville , Jamie McShane , Robert Alan Beuth , Marley Shelton , Christina Applegate , Scott Adsit , Sara Arrington , Mary Pat Gleason , David Caffrey , Alexa Sheehan , Wesley Mann , Jim Cody Williams , Kay E Kuter , Michael Shannon , Robert Forster

Directed by (& story co written) David Caffrey

Rated PG13

HISTORY/COMEDY/DRAMA

"Oh. Okay. It's a 200 hundred dollars worth of surprise?"

"No. No. No. It's more of a 50 dollars surprise."

Lowlifes (2024)

Made for Tubi, released on instant streaming April 11th in the US.

Filmed in Canada.

The story: Keith and Katherine have taken their teenage children Amy and Jeffery out of the city for their school break.

They are camping in their grandfather's camper...

While eating a meal cooked by Keith, two grimy men show up.

They claim they are looking for their cousin. But the family claims to have not seen him.

Finally, the two guys leave, and the family packs up, quickly getting back on the road.

On their way, they are stopped by the same two guys who now claim their pickup just stopped running.

They ask that the family take one of them just down the road to pick up another car to come and get him.

The family allows the man to go with them, but not even at the house yet, Jeffery does the guy in...

After the family rallies together to clean up the mess, they make their way to the very house they were supposed to bring that guy to.

There, the family finds two sisters and their grandfather, who are more than happy to allow the family inside their home, after the family claims they had car trouble.

But they should have never allowed them in.

Stars Matthew MacCaull, Elyse Levesque, Amanda Fix, Josh Zaharia, Todd Masters, Richard Harmon, Ben Sullivan, Brenna Llewellyn, Cassandra Sawtell, Kevin McNulty, Dayleigh Nelson, Alexander Calvert

Directed by Tesh Guttikonda & Mitch Oliver

Not Rated

MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR

Disconnect (2012)

Released July 5, 2013 in the US.

Filmed entirely in New York.

The story: Four groups of people that do not know each other, are all connected by one thing. The internet.

Ben is a talented smart kid who keeps to himself and doesn't exactly have any friends.

His father Rich is an attorney, who is never too far from his cell phone, which makes him even further away from his family.

While wandering around a martial arts studio, Ben has a run-in with bullies Jason and Frye.

When Frye looks on Facebook to find Ben, he learns that Ben is a 10th grader just like them and also goes to their school.

They decide to make a fake Facebook account to mess with Ben, which goes horribly wrong.

Jason's dad Mike, is a widowed ex-policeman who is struggling to raise Jason on his own.

Jason thinks his dad is too hard on him, doesn't understand him, and worst of all, doesn't care about him.

Mike works taking down people who steal others' identities through the internet.

He is currently trying to help married couple Derek and Cindy, whose marriage is suffering since the passing of their infant son.

To make matters worse for Derek and Cindy, their bank accounts were hacked into, due to Derek's online gambling problem and Cindy befriending someone on a chatroom out of loneliness.

Nina is a journalist who has recently got the bright idea to do a piece on the people who make a living on adult webcam sites.

When her piece gets picked up by CNN, trouble strikes because unknowingly at the time and without that intention, what Nina really uncovered is underage sex workers.

When the FBI gets involved, Nina is in hot water.

Attorney Ben is called in to advise Nina on what she can and cannot do to help solve the case.

Stars Jonah Bobo, Colin Ford, Aviad Bernstein, Jason Bateman, Haley Ramm, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Alexander Skarsgard, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Norbert Leo Butz, Max Thieriot, Michael Nyquist, Teresa Celentano, Kasi Lemmons, John Sharian, Marc Jacobs

Directed by Henry Alex Rubin

Rated R
DRAMA

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul (2022)

Released September 2nd in the US.

Filmed in Georgia.

The story: Pastor Lee Curtis Childs and First Lady Trinitie Childs were the proud leaders of their self-made Southern Baptist Megachurch.

Everyone loved and admired the couple and gave freely.

The Pastor and First Lady also gave so much more back.

But when Pastor Lee was involved in a scandal, everything surrounding the church changed.

They lost their congregation, which has really taken a toll on them.

Years later, after they believe everything has blown over from the public eye and they paid their dues, the couple are aiming to rebuild and reopen their church.

At the same time, they have hired a film crew to commemorate their progress, which doesn't always go as the couple planned.

But they carry on, with high hopes and expectations even though it seems they are continuously struck down at every turn.

Stars Sterling K Brown, Regina Hall, Nicole Beharie, Conphidence , Austin Crute, Devere Rogers, Robert Yatta, Greta Glenn, Andrea Laing, Selah Kimbro Jones, Crystal Alicia Garrett, Perris Drew

Directed by (& story written) Adamma Ebo

Rated R
DRAMA

Renfield (2023)

Released April 14th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Louisiana.

The story: Renfield was once a married man with a daughter who was trying to make a living selling insurance.

That is until he met the Prince of Darkness...

Dracula took a liking to Renfield right away, claiming him for his servant.

Present day, after a serious accident, Renfield has taken Dracula to an unsuspecting city, where they can fit in and find food.

But lately, Renfield is feeling like he needs to get out of his servantry.

He has been attending a self-help group at a local church and there he learns there is hope for him.

When Renfield gets the idea that he can feed the "monsters" in the lives of his fellow self-help group to his boss, he believes he has solved all problems.

But that idea backfires on him.

Renfield ends up getting involved with helping a policewoman who feels like she is a one-person police force while trying to take down a powerful local drug kingpin and his family.

Stars Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Camille Chen, Adrian Martinez, Brandon Scott Jones, Jenna Kanell, Danya LaBelle, Rhonda Johnson Dents, Bess Rous, Christopher Matthew Cook, Michael P Sullivan, Rosha Washington, James Moses Black

Directed by Chris McKay

Rated R
COMEDY/FANTASY/HORROR

Play Dead (2022)

Released April 7, 2023, in the US.

Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: Chloe is a young woman juggling school and payments on her family home with very little money.

Her younger brother TJ is no help.

To make matters worse, Ty gets himself into trouble, going along with his friend Ross on a robbery. 

But TJ is only the driver.

When Ross gets shot, TJ gets away. But, Ross's phone connects him to the robbery.

When TJ tells Chloe what happened and how they need to get Ross's phone, they try to get into the town morgue but are unable.

So, Chloe comes up with the crazy plan to "play dead" so she can get into the morgue.

Unfortunately, when she's finally inside, the situation is even worse than she would have guessed.

Stars Anthony Turpel, Chris Lee, Chris Butler, Sterling Beaumon, Stephanie Rojas, Bailee Madison, Jerry O Connell, Jorge Luis Pallo, Kyler ONeal, Haley Pilz, Josh Harp,  Coco Fenton, Ashad Hashine

Directed by Patrick Lussier

Not Rated

THRILLER/MYSTERY/HORROR

The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022)

Released May 27th in the US.

The story: Today is the day that Bob and Linda are to try to get another loan to help pay for their burger business.

Bob is completely worried but Louise positively encourages him that they will get the loan.

When they do not get the loan, both Bob and Linda really become worried. 

The only solution is to sell as many burgers as possible in a month to pay off the loan they already have.

But when a giant sinkhole opens up right in front of the business, selling burgers doesn't exactly become any easier.

Meanwhile, at school, Louise is called a baby for not wanting to play on the monkey bars because her hat will fall off and everyone knows she never takes off her hat.

Louise gets the idea to be recorded climbing down into the sinkhole, to show her bravery.

While in there, she finds a skeleton which becomes big news and gets the kids thinking that they can uncover who the killer is.

Stars (voices by) H John Benjamin, John Roberts, Dan Mitz, Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, David Wain, Zach Galifianakis, Kevin Kline, Larry Murphy, Gary Cole, John Q Kubin, Nick Kroll 

Directed by Loren Bouchard & Bernard Derriman

Rated PG

ANIMATION/COMEDY/MYSTERY

Meeting Evil (2012)

Released March 30th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Louisana.

The story: John is a real estate agent who just lost his job.

When he arrives home, he cannot find anyone but the back door is open...

Suddenly his wife Joanie and their kids pop up out of nowhere, trying to surprise him with a birthday cake.

Instead, John is just annoyed by the whole thing.

He explains that he didn't sell the house he hoped to sell but ceases to mention that he lost his job.

Problem is , their home is going into foreclosure and John really needed to make a sale.

Disappointed and worried, Joanie takes the kids to the park.

Then there's a knock on the door.

A stranger claims that his car has stalled right out front and he wants John to help him jumpstart it.

John doesn't exactly want to help, but he does, getting hurt in the process.

When the stranger approaches John, he has opened up his trunk and is holding a gun, but John sees none of this.

Because there is a little girl who happens to be walking her dog nearby, the stranger gets John in his car, claiming he will take him to the hospital.

But the stranger doesn't take John to the hospital. Instead, he takes him on a hell ride that only gets worse as time goes on.

When John tries to get away, he is unable. Apparently, there is no stopping the stranger who seems to have it in for John and his family. But John has no idea why.

Stars Luke Wilson, Bret Roberts, Leslie Bibb, Sam Robbins, Gabrielle Harvey, Samuel L Jackson, Tina Parker, Jason Alan Smith, Peyton List, Muse Watson, Tracie Thoms, Ryan Lee, Allie McConnell

Directed by Chris Fisher

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER

Kajillionaire (2020)

Released September 25th in the US.

Filmed in California.

The story : Old Dolio Dyne is a 26-year-old woman who lives with her parents in an office building in L.A...

Her parents ,  Robert and Theresa Dyne, are small-time scam artists , who have been taking Old Dolio along for that ride since she's been alive.

Recently they have been struggling with getting results from their latest heist ideas until Old Dolio comes up with an idea that's sure to pay off.

It involves flying to New York together then flying right back , Robert and Theresa together, Old Dolio alone.

While on their flight back to L.A.  , Robert and Theresa befriend chatty Melanie.

Robert and Theresa let Melanie in on their plan , which doesnt exactly work out but gets Melanie thinking of her own small time scams that they can all go in on together.

Instead of any of their ideas working out, Melanie ends up teaching Old Dolio a lot about living outside the small , comfortable box that her parents have been keeping her sheltered in for so long.

Stars Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, Evan Rachel Wood, Rachel Redleaf, Randy Ryan, Mark Ivanir, Patricia Belcher, Kim Estes, DaVine Joy Randolph, Gina Rodriguez, Diana Maria Riva, Betsy Baker

Directed by (& story written) Miranda July

Rated R

DRAMA/COMEDY

"I don't have any regrets. Youre gonna have regrets though because you're gonna miss sex and dancing and pancakes. I just had that one pancake , so I'm not gonna be sad."

The High Cost of Living (2010)

Released April 20, 2011 in the US.

Filmed entirely in Canada.

The story: Henry is an American, living in Canada on an expired visa.

He lives a life of running FDA-approved drugs and fixing locks while setting up camp above a Chinese food restaurant.

At the same time, in the same area, Nathalie is a married Canadian woman who is a few short weeks away from giving birth.

Nathalie is struggling with her marriage but is also keeping things together, hopeful that after the baby arrives things will get better.

After Nathalie's baby shower is just about over for the evening, her work-a-holic husband Michel makes a short appearance. Then is back off to work.

On that same evening, after everyone has left for the night, Nathalie believes she is in labor.

She tries calling Michel but gets no response. She calls a girlfriend who advises her not to worry because it's too early.

But, to make herself feel better, Nathalie calls a taxi to take her to the hospital.

While frantically looking around in the street for the taxi, Nathalie is hit by Henry - who happens to be driving in the wrong direction down a one-way street and not exactly watching the road.

The next thing Nathalie knows, she is in the hospital with a minor concussion but she has lost the baby...

Henry, scared to death and feeling extremely guilty, tries to find out what happened, if anything to Nathalie and her baby, which starts a whole new chapter in both Nathalie and Henry's lives.

Stars Zach Braff, Isabelle Blais, Julian Lo, Patrick Labbe, Aimee Lee, Pierre Gendron, Sean Lu, Anick Lemay, Nicole Braber, Graham Cuthbertson, Tony Robinow, Kyle Switzer, Mylene Savoie

Directed by (& story partly written) Deborah Chow

Rated PG13

DRAMA

Get To the Heart : The Barbara Mandrell Story (1997)

Made for CBS, airing September 28th in the US.

Filmed in California.

Based on truths.

The story: From the beginning, Barbara was a star.

Born to two musically inclined parents, by the time Barbara could walk she could play just about every instrument as well as sing.

After being noticed while helping her father sell amplifiers, Barbara found herself performing onstage.

Next, she was performing on stage in front of millions of TV viewers.

Soon all the hecticness of performing took its toll on her parents, and instead of becoming rich and famous, they were all content to just continue performing locally.

At sixteen, Barbara was still performing with her family, along with the love of her life Ken, for the locals.

When Barbara and Ken married, she decided to retire and just live as Ken's wife.

But when Ken had to go away on leave, Barbara got the performing bug once again.

Soon, she was famous, touring her album, and then, she was the star of her own TV show, taking her two younger sisters along for the ride.

This time around, Barbara became tired of being away from her family so much.

When she was ready once again to finally give up show business, she was involved in a horrible accident that almost cost her everything.

Stars  Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Dwight Schultz, Lisa Blout, Tonya Watts, Lisa Haun, Maureen McCormick, Portia Dawson, Jaime Dudney, John Doe, Greg Kean, Brittney Lee Harvey, Evan Rachel Wood, Jesse Littlejohn, Robert Clothworthy, Leonard Kelly Young, Kenny Rogers, Joe Bays

Directed by Jerry London

Rated PG
BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY/DRAMA

The Stand at Paxton County (2020)

Released May 3rd in the US.

Filmed entirely in California.

Based on truths.

The story: Janna is a US Army combat medic away in Afghanistan.

She gets a call after working a 36-hour shift from her best friend back home in North Dakota.

Her father Dell who lives and works on his ranch has suffered a heart attack.

Janna gets the next flight home, although she has not seen Dell in quite some time and their relationship is a bit strained.

Quickly, Janna learns that many of the local ranchers, including her father are being targeted by animal abuse officials.

None of it makes any sense, as the officials, working along with the local sheriff have been seizing all the horses from all the ranches they visit.

After catching up on all the required protocols from the officials and still being aggressively harassed, Janna digs deeper.

She, along with Dell and some friends learn that the so-called animal abuse officials have been confiscating the horses from their owners with the legal claims of abuse and illegally selling them off for massive profits.

Stars Jacqueline Toboni, Zoe Kanters, Blake Sheldon, Greg Perrow, Michael ONeill, Christopher McDonald, Marwa Bernstein, Tanner Thomason, Tyler Jacob Moore, Trent Loos, David Michael ONeill

Directed by Brett Hedlund

Rated R
DRAMA/MYSTERY/HISTORY

The Ex (2006)

Released May 11, 2007 in the US.

Filmed in New York and California.

The story: Tom and Sofia are an adorable married couple that are expecting their first baby.

Living in New York, Tom works as a chef and Sofia is a lawyer.

When the baby is born, the plan is for Sofia to stay home and Tom will continue working.

Tom is up for a promotion but instead gets fired.
While trying to figure out what he is going to do now, Sofia goes into labor.

After the baby is born, Sofia learns Tom lost his job. 

They decide to move to Ohio, where Sofia's dad has got Tom a job at the advertising company he works at.
There, Tom meets and has to work under over-achiever Chip.

Chip also happens to be an ex-boyfriend of Sofia's, which doesn't help matters because Chip has a real mean streak and he's all about taking Tom down.

He also still has the hots for Sofia.

Tom tries his best at his new job, but Chip does not make anything easy for him.

The last straw comes when Tom gets the company a major campaign and Chip does everything he can to sabotage all Tom's efforts.

Stars Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Yul Vazquez, Paul Rudd, Charles Grodin, Mia Farrow, Jason Bateman, Fred Armisen, Bob Stephenson, Lucian Maisel, Donal Logue, Amy Poehler, Robert John Burke

Directed by Jesse Peretz

Rated PG13

COMEDY

Saltburn (2023)

Released December 22nd in the US.

Filmed in England and Oxford UK.

The story: Oliver Quick is a new student at Oxford University.

He knows no one there and he is a bit socially awkward.

One day, while riding his bike to the library, Oliver finds popular guy around campus Felix, sitting next to his bike.

Oliver asks what's going on and learns that Felix has a flat tire but he really needs to be somewhere important right now.

Without hesitation, Oliver offers his bike. When Felix refuses, Oliver insists.

This starts in motion a quick friendship between the two.

Felix immediately lets Oliver into his world, spending hours getting to know him.

Oliver explains much about his life, including the fact that his parents are users and he has no siblings...

Others warn Oliver that in time, Felix will forget all about him. But Oliver ignores the warnings, even though Felix does begin to give him the brush-off.

When Oliver gets a call from his mother, Oliver goes to Felix, his only friend, with the tragic news of his father's passing.

Now Felix and Oliver are closer than ever once again.

So close that Felix invites Oliver to his family home with him.

Felix's home is unlike anything Oliver has ever experienced but he makes a good effort at fitting in and relaxing.

Felix's family immediately takes a liking to him, even going as far as planning his birthday party.

Just when Oliver is getting the hang of things around Felix's home, Felix surprises Oliver on the day of his birthday with a surprise that is anything but a happy one.

Stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Archie Madekwe, Sadie Soverall, Reece Shearsmith, Paul Rhys, Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant, Carey Mulligan, Alison Oliver, Dorothy Atkinson, Shaun Dooley

Directed by (& story written) Emerald Fennell

Rated R
DRAMA/MYSTERY

The Guilty (2021)

Made for Netflix, airing on instant streaming, October 1st in the US.

Filmed in California.

The story: Wildfires are currently taking over Los Angeles.

This keeps the LAPD super busy, not to mention there is a complete lack of patrol cars to go around for normal emergencies.

Joe Baylor is working as a 911 dispatcher after getting in trouble in the line of duty.

He is annoyed, impatient, struggling with the air quality, and going through a separation which causes him to not get to see his young daughter as much as he would like.

Joe has been taking routine 911 calls all morning until he gets a really serious one.
A woman calls him from her cell phone and from what Joe can make out, she has been abducted.

He does his best to help, going above and beyond, and asking as many questions as possible.

The call consumes Joe until he can make sure for certain that the woman is safe.

Stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Maurice Webster, Christina Vidal, Adrian Martinez, David Castaneda, Becky Wu, Oscar Balderrama,  (voice) Riley Keough, (voice) Peter Sarsgaard, Eli Goree, Ethan Hawke, Da Vine Joy Randolph, Christiana Montoya, (voice) Edi Patterson, (voice) Dru Knapp, (voice) Paul Dano, (voice) Gillian Zinser

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER

"Broken people help broken people."

Lover , Stalker , Killer (2024)

Made for Netflix, airing on instant streaming February 9th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Nebraska.

The story: In 2012, Dave Kroupa is recently divorced.

He moves to Nebraska, where his ex-wife has moved so he can be close to his children.

There, Dave is new in town and finds he is a bit lonely. He decides to join an online dating community.

In this community, Dave meets single mother of two, Liz Golyar. The two meet up for a date and immediately hit it off.

But there is one thing they both agree on, their relationship is to be a casual one.

No commitments, just good times between two friends.

Soon, Dave meets single mother of one Cari Farver and they also make a connection.

Once again, the same rules apply. No serious commitments.

On Dave and Cari's first date, they make their way back to Dave's place.

No sooner do they get inside, they find Liz is at the door, claiming she left something at Dave's that she needs.

Cari leaves, Dave allows Liz inside to get her things and after she leaves, Dave goes over to Cari's house.

Dave does not see Cari too many more times after that...

One day after Dave and Cari have spent the prior evening together, he gets a text from her, stating that she thinks they should move in together.

Dave, surprised about this because they have a mutual agreement, just kind of shrugs it off.

Right after that, Dave begins getting massive amounts of text messages from a very irate Cari.

The texts are mean-spirited and threatening and they seem to never end.

As time goes on, the texts get worse and worse, each one containing a more dangerous message.

It seems no one in Dave's life, including himself, is safe...

Stars Dave Kroupa,  Nancy Raney, Amy Flora, Chris LeGrow, Jim Doty, Ryan Avis, Tony Kava, Brenda Beadle, Todd Butterbaugh, Liz/Shanna Golyar

Directed by Sam Hobkinson

Not Rated

DOCUMENTARY/HISTORY

The Lesson (2023)

Released July 2nd in the US.

Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: Liam is a brilliant young man who wants to be an author.

He has been working on a novel for many years but has recently put it down for a bit.

Liam works as a tutor and is very good at what he does. 

So good, that to his surprise, he is sought after by famous author J M Sinclair.

You see, Liam looks up to and admires Sinclair's work and knows it all by heart.

He strives to be just as good as him one day.

So, it is purely an honor and delight that Sinclair has hired him.

Liam's hired job is to tutor Sinclair's youngest son, Bertie.

Bertie is struggling with his writing and Sinclair believes he must do the best he can to make it into the college that he must attend...

What Liam ends up learning while tutoring Bertie, is that the household in which he lives, along with his mother, is quite oppressed by Sinclair.

Sinclair rules over his household with a heavy hand, leaving everyone around him feeling unworthy and somber.

Liam even finds that in time, Sinclair makes him feel the very same way he makes his family feel.

But Liam was hired to help...

Stars Daryl McCormack, Tomas Spencer, Julie Delpy, Stephen McMillan, Richard E Grant, Crispin Letts, Joseph Meurer

Directed by Alice Troughton

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER

"Good authors borrow, great authors steal."

Follow Her (2022)

Released June 2, 2023 in the US.
Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: Jess is a young woman, struggling to live out her dreams of being an actress.
She applies for jobs, some of which she secretly records for her YouTube live-streaming channel.

This isn't making her much money,  but she has high hopes that it will someday make her internet famous.

After posting her latest video and realizing that it has skyrocketed her popularity, she believes she has finally made it to the top of the charts.

Shortly thereafter though, Jess notices a big glitch in the video and begins freaking out.

With nothing more to do but wait for help, she continues job searching until she finds an ad looking for a co-scriptwriter.

Jess believes the job is legit, and after traveling to a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere to meet Joe, the main screenwriter of the project, she begins loosening up a bit.

Joe seems nice enough but after some time, Jess cannot determine if Joe's intentions are real or if he is setting her up for something far more sinister.

Stars Dani Barker, Brian Vincent, Eliana Jones, Mark Moses, Luke Cook, Justin L Wilson, Lorraine Farris, Maayan Laufer, Jean Remy Monnay, Clay Vanderbeek, Chris Gaunt, Cristala Carter, Bettina Bilger

Directed by Sylvia Caminer

Not Rated

MYSTERY/THRILLER

Farming (2018)

Released October 25, 2019 in the US.

Filmed entirely in England.

Based on truths.

The story: Tilbury, England, 1967.

New Nigerian parents Femi and Paddy have come to England to pay for their six-week-old son Enitan to live in a foster home. 

They believe it is best for the time being, as they need to go back home and continue on with their studies and work.

But it will not be forever.

Many years go by and Enitan is still living with the same foster parents, along with many other children two of whom are his younger blood sisters.

Enitan tries very hard to capture the love and adoration of his foster mother, but she isn't exactly interested.

He begins feeling alienated and alone, knowing he is different. Everyone who is cruel to him is white and this makes him want to be white as well.

Suddenly, Enitan's life is uprooted when Femi and Paddy show up to take him back to Nigeria.

Enitan is scared and confused there and, after some time, not able to adapt.

With no choice, his parents send him back to his foster parents once again, but he's really confused, scared, and traumatized now.

The only thing Enitan seems to be interested in is escape. 

He is a kind soul who is misunderstood time and time again, while just wanting to be accepted somewhere.

When Enitan becomes a young teenager, he is a violent and unruly loner, just living inside himself.

But not as violent and unruly as the gang that is cruelest to him, whom Enitan begins thinking he was born to run with.

Stars Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje, Ademola Adedoyin, Kate Beckinsale, Ann Mitchell, Lee Ross, Zephan Hanson Amissah, Adejola Adeyemi, Brooklyn Appiah, Michael Akinsulire, Shane Attwooll, Zach Avery, Rachael Banjo, Theo Barklem Biggs, Bradley Bissett, Scarlett Brookes, Kirstie Brough, Damson Idris, Gugu Mbatha Raw, Craig Canning, Tom Canton, John Dagleish, James Eeles, Ryan Enever, Cosmo Jarvis, Skye Lourie, Robert Maskell, Ella McLoughlin, Mike Shanti

Directed by (& story written) Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje

Rated R
DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY

"Between the 1960s and the 1980s, tens of thousands of Nigerian children were fostered out by their parents to white working-class families in the UK.

This informal system became known as "farming".

This is one of their stories..."

The Last Shift (2020)

Released September 25th in the US.

Filmed in Chicago.

The story: Stanley has been a dedicated, honest employee of the slow-paced , fast-food chain Oscar's Chicken and Fish for the last 38 years.

He will be retiring next Tuesday. He will also be training the new employee during his last weekend for the graveyard shift.

Jevon is a young man, who has recently done time for defacing a monument.

He is a bright guy, who is good at and enjoys writing. He is also the father of one young son.

Jevon's parole requires him to either get a job or attend college.

He believes college is a waste of time for him, as he already knows how to write. 

So, working will pay the bills...

After applying for many jobs, Jevon is hired at Oscars.

Stanley quickly begins to teach Jevon the ropes and Jevon learns a lot from him.

But when Stanley asks his boss for his check before he is completely done training Jevon, and she gives him a hard time about it, Stanley loses his regular, easy-going cool.

Stars Richard Jenkins , DaVine Joy Randolph , Ed ONeill , Shane Paul McGhie , Jennifer Engstrom , Deron J Powell , Allison Tolman , Julian Parker , Birgundi Baker , Tracey Bonner , Cairo McCarter , Carter McCarter , Lyle Miller , Dano Duran , Bradley Grant Smith , Tara Mallen , Alex Stein

Directed by (& story written) Andrew Cohn

Rated R
DRAMA

Sparkle (1976)

Released April 7th in the US.

Filmed entirely in California.

The story: In the 50s, Harlem,  Sister, Delores, and Sparkle are three sisters who sing in their local church choir.

They are such good singers, that they should be famous.

Two of the boys in their choir who are also friends of the sisters decide to go around to local clubs to get the girls a gig and show off their talents hopefully to the right people.

They land a show and are quickly picked up by the shadiest of local businessmen.

But that shady fellow has taken a liking to the eldest sister, Sister.

Soon she is withdrawn, drug addicted, and physically abused by him.

Then, Delores, scared for Sister, does her best to put an end to Sister's drug problems.

But her plans, although doing the right thing, scare her to the point that she wants out of the spotlight and everything they have been working towards.

Sparkle , the youngest sister, continues to stay true to her roots.

Although her sisters have gone off and left her alone with her mother, Sparkle continues to do what's right.

When her boyfriend from the choir shows back up in her life and wants to help make her famous, Sparkle is unsure she can do it.

But he convinces her she can and that finally sends her off in the direction of stardom.

Stars Lonette McKee, Dwan Smith, Irene Cara, Michael Phillip Thomas, Dorian Harewood, Mary Alice, Tony King, Beatrice Winde, Paul Lambert, Joyce Easton, Otis Day, Norma Miller, Tayla Ferro, Bob Delegall, Armelia McQueen, Don Bexley, Timmie Rogers, Ken Renard 

Directed by Sam Osteen

Rated PG
DRAMA/MUSIC

The Impossible Years (1968)

Released December 5th in the US.

Filmed in California.

The story: Dr. Jonathan Kingsley is a happily married, father of two girls - 17-year-old Linda and 13-year-old Abbey.

The doctor is the professor of Psychology at the local university. He is also writing a book about parents and their relationships with their teenagers.

Currently, the students of the university are protesting and when the school paper wants to do an interview with the doctor, he is more than willing.

He claims that if you are close with your children, they will not stray from what is the right way and he firmly stands by that philosophy.

Shortly thereafter, the doctor gets a frantic call from his wife.

Their daughter Linda has been arrested for protesting in the campus demonstration.

In shock , the doctor rushes to the police station , believing it all must be a mistake.

There , he learns it is no mistake , Linda was infact arrested and the charges are not good.

The doctor and his wife find out soon enough that their beloved daughter , who they trust and thought they knew , isnt as easily understood or trustworthy as they thought.

Stars David Niven , Trudi Ames , Lola Albright , Cristina Ferrare , Rich Chalet , Darleen Carr , Ozzie Nelson , Chad Everett , Jeff Cooper , John Harding , Michael McGreevey , Don Beddoe , Lousie Lorimer , Karen Norris , Susan French , J Edward McKinley , Ned Wertimer , Ion Berger

Directed by Michael Gordon

Rated G
COMEDY

"Here's my favorite. 'Please excuse Linda  , as her father is using her for LSD experiments and she doesnt know who she is in the afternoon.'"

Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Released October 31st in the US.

Filmed entirely in Canada.

The story: James is a speech teacher for the deaf.

He has worked at some really prestigious schools, where he has crafted his progressive methods.

James has recently taken a job at a school for the deaf in New England. 

There he is assigned to work with a group of older deaf students.

While at lunch, James notices a young deaf woman in the kitchen, having an argument with a cook.

James asks about the woman and learns she is 25-year-old Sarah Norman, a cleaning lady who works at the school and happens to be deaf as well as mute.

James decides he would like to help Sarah, but quickly learns she is quite stubborn.

He gets to understanding that she wants no part in being understood, and most definitely does not want to learn to speak.

But James will have none of that.

While trying to bring Sarah out of her shell, the two become close and James falls in love with her.

Stars William Hurt, Philip Bosco, Allison Gompf, John F Cleary, Philip Holmes, Georgia Ann Cline, William D Byrd, Frank Carter Jr, John Limnidis, Bob Hiltermann, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, E Katherine Kerr, John Basinger, Barry Magnani. Linda Bove, Ann Hanson, James Carrington

Directed by Randa Haines

Rated R
DRAMA

Tempted (2001)

Released January 1st in the US.

Filmed entirely in Louisiana.

The story: Charlie LeBlanc is a rich businessman with a young, attractive wife named Lily.

But recently Charlie learned he doesn't have much more time to live.

Just when he is ready to make out his will, leaving everything he owns to Lily, he has a thought...

Is Lily the woman she claims to be? Does she really love Charlie like she says she does and does she deserve all his money?

Charlie befriends handsome, much younger than himself Jimmy, who happens to be working on becoming a court-appointed attorney.

Knowing Jimmy could use the money, Charlie offers him 40 thousand dollars to make a move on his wife.

Jimmy refuses at first but after meeting Lily, decides to try.

Lily then refuses Jimmy's come ons , but when she finds out that Charlie planned it all because he isn't sure he can trust her, she accepts Jimmy's advances.

But Charlie has one more trick up his sleeve that neither Jimmy nor Lily knows a thing about.

Stars Burt Reynolds, Saffron Burrows, Mike Starr, Randy Austin, Kyle Erby, Peter Facinelli, Carol Sutton, Eric Mabius, George DiCenzo, David Jensen, Lisha Brock, RL Burnside, Kenny Brown

Directed by (& story written) Bill Bennett

Rated R
MYSTERY/THRILLER

Making Monsters (2019)

Released March 25, 2021 in the US.

Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: Christian is a YouTube sensation with his prankster videos.

His girlfriend/soon-to-be wife Allison is typically the star of the videos and while she enjoys seeing Christian happy, she thinks it's time to hang up his video camera.

Also, Allison has been trying to get pregnant and recently has gone as far as taking fertility medicine, so she would rather not be stressed and scared for the sake of having a baby.

While out and about, Christian and Allison run into a friend of Christian.

He is excited to explain that he and his partner have sold their home in the city and moved out into the country.

They are now living in a church.

He invites Christian and Allison to come out and visit and they accept.

Just as excited as the friend, the couple ventures out into the country.

When they arrive, they are greeted by their friend's partner, David.

David is a kind and strange host but Christian and Allison make themselves at home.

David explains some things about the house, including the graveyard with no tombstones in the backyard.

This freaks Allison out, not to mention all the horror masks around the place that Christian's friend makes for a living.

But, the couple make the most of things.

At dinner, they find out that David's partner will not be back until the next morning.

So the three make the most of the evening by drinking, dancing, and enjoying party favors.

After they all retire for the night though, Allison wakes up to some seriously terrifying shit.

Stars Jarrett Siddall, Tim Loden, Alana Elmer, Jonathan Craig, Peter Higginson

Directed by (& story written) Justin Harding & Rob Brunner

Not Rated

MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR

Going In Style (1979)

Released December 25th in the US.

Filmed in New York and Nevada.

The story: Joe, Al, and Willie are three elderly men who share a home together.

They get by on welfare assistance, but barely.

One day, Joe decides he is sick and tired of sitting in the park every day, looking at the same old things.

He is also sick of suffering financially.

Joe comes up with an idea. Joe wants to hold up the local bank and he wants to take Al and Willie along as his accomplices.

Al and Willie think Joe's idea is a crazy one, but then again, they really have nothing to lose.

Stars George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg, Charles Hallahan, Pamela Payton Wright, Siobhan Keegan, Brian Neville, Constantine Hartofolis, Jean Shevlin, James Manis, Tito Goya, William Pabst, Christopher Wynkoop, John McComb, Melvin Jurdem, Joseph Sullivan, Bob Markoff

Directed by (& story partly written) Martin Brest

Rated PG
COMEDY/DRAMA

"Jesus Christ. Crying and pissing your pants, like a 3-month-old baby. You know, I guess the whole goddamned cycle is complete now."

Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

Released September 23rd in the US.

Filmed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The story: Maggie Foley is a news reporter for Media Magazine.

She recently came up with the idea to cover a story that has been a mystery since 1964.

The story of a rock and roller named Eddie Wilson.

On March 15, 1964, Eddie's car went off a bridge in New Jersey.

His body was never found.

He had just left the recording studio, where he had finalized his latest album, 'Season In Hell'.

When Maggie went to the recording studio to check out Eddie's last album she learned that on the day after Eddie's disappearance, someone checked the tapes out of the studio.

Maggie believes that it could quite possibly mean that Eddie is still alive.

At the same time, Eddie and his band the Cruisers' music has begun making an appearance on the music charts once again.

After Maggie gets in touch with the band's keyboardist Frank Ridgeway,  and tells him she is going to reignite the memory of Eddie and the Cruisers, Frank gets a call from his old DJ friend Doc, who has also talked to Maggie.

Doc wants to resurrect the band, by cloning it and possibly making a movie, but Frank wants no part in that.

But one thing they currently do have in common is someone had broken into both of their houses and the only explanation is those missing tapes.

In search of what happened to the tapes and what could have been for the band ,  Frank begins reconnecting with the rest of the band.

Stars Ellen Barkin, Tom Berenger, Helen Schneider, Michael Pare, Joe Pantoliano, Michael 'Tunes' Antunes, Matthew Laurance, David Wilson, Kenny Vance, Joe Cates, John Stockwell, Barry Sand, Vebe Borge, Howard Johnson, Joey Balin, Bruce Brown, Robin Karfo

Directed by (& story partly written) Martin Davidson

Rated PG
DRAMA/MYSTERY/MUSIC

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Released March 2nd in the US.

Filmed entirely in California.

The story: In 1966, filmmaker Marty DiBergi visited the rock club Electric Banana in Grange Village.

What he heard there blew him away. 

Playing was the legendary British band Spinal Tap, known as one of England's loudest bands.

17 years and 15 albums later, Spinal Tap is still going strong.

In the late fall of 1982, Marty got word that the band would be releasing a new album. 

Their first in almost 6 years.

The album release would be followed by a North American tour to promote that album.

Marty jumped at the opportunity to document their tour in a rockumentary.

Along the way, many things go wrong and the audiences are not what the band anticipated.

Still, they carry on, performing their beloved songs for the people who do enjoy their music.

Stars Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, RJ Parnell, David Kaff, Tony Hendra, Harry Shearer, Bruno Kirby, Ed Begley Jr,  Patrick Maher, Fran Drescher, Dana Carvey, Julie Payne, Billy Crystal, Danny Kortchmar, Patrick Macnee, Memo Vera, June Chadwick, Howard Hessman, Paul Shortino, Victory Tischler Blue, Joyce Hyser, Paul Shaffer, Archie Hahn, Anjelica Houston, Fred Willard, Russ Kunkel, Sandy Helburg, JJ Barry, Paul Benedict, George McDaniel, Zane Buzby

Directed by (& partly written) Rob Reiner

Rated R
COMEDY/MUSIC

"Talk about mud flaps, my girls' got em!"

Thriller 40 (2023)

Made for Showtime and Paramount +, airing December 2nd in the US.

The story: Michael Jackson rose to fame alongside his brothers.

But Michael was always the star of the show.

With his talent, good looks, and fantastic singing voice, Michael couldn't miss.

As he got older, his looks changed, but his talent and inspiration only grew.

He was confident it was time to venture out on his own as a solo artist.

He released four solo albums that didn't do much on the charts.

Then, in 1979, Michael released  'Off the Wall'. 

It was a much more adult album than his prior releases and he was sure it would be a great success.

The album did well but did not end up being the multi-award winner he imagined.

Michael knew his next musical endeavor would have to be much better.

Four years later, after much hard work, Michael was finally ready to release his next solo album. 

Recording through November of 1982, 'Thriller' was released on November 29th of that same year.

Almost immediately, 'Thriller' was a giant success and Michael's fandom grew and grew.

Michael was a big fan of MTV, but found black artists were not being played due to MTV being a "rock and roll station."
When all that changed and Michael's videos began making an appearance on the channel, his album sales picked up.

Although, by mid-1983, 'Thriller' was seeing a decline in sales. 

Michael convinced his record company Epic to release the seventh and last single from 'Thriller'.

The custom-made video that was made with lots of vision by Michael himself came along as well.

This 13-minute mini-movie/music video of the album's title track was directed by movie director John Landis.

It made its MTV debut on December 2, 1983.

The video most definitely showed Michael's hard work and pure dedication to his craft.

This song/video became the album's winning element...

The 'Thriller' album became record-breaking, winning 8 awards at the 26th Grammy Awards, proving Michael had finally made it on his own terms.

Michael was living high and happy, finally filling his own shoes without his brothers and loving every minute of it.

But, in 1984, when Michael's father believed that it was time for Michael to reunite with his brothers for a world tour, and an unnecessary sponsor/PR stunt that followed went horribly wrong, everything quickly took a turn for to worst for Michael...

Stars Steve Barron, Mary J Blige, John Branca, Misty Copeland, Ed Eckstine, Matt Forger, Kelly Frydman, Nelson George, Steven Ivory, Paul Jackson Jr, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, John Landis, Steve Lukather, Maxwell, Greg Phillinganes, Steven Ray, Mark Ronson, Raphael Saadiq, Brooke Shields, Kent Olaf, Usher, Maxine Waters Willard, Julia Waters, Oren Waters 

Directed by Nelson George

Not Rated

DOCUMENTARY/HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY/MUSIC

Hope Springs (2012)

Released August 8th in the US.

Filmed entirely in Connecticut.

The story: Kate and Arnold have been married for 31 years.

They are both very happy with their lives but Kate is starting to feel quite distant from Arnold.

She feels that the spark in their marriage has diminished and she wants that back.

Kate attempts to be romantic but Arnold doesn't seem to notice.

After reading a book by marriage counselor Dr. Feld, Kate signs herself and Arnold up for the doctor week week-long counseling session.

Arnold is completely against this but Kate perseveres. When Arnold realizes Kate is not giving in, he goes.

But right from the get-go, Arnold pushes back.

After realizing this is all upsetting Kate, Arnold makes an effort.

Time after time, after Arnold makes an effort the only way he knows how and Kate ends disappointed, Arnold is told he better make sure that he has made every attempt to help his marriage before he gives up completely.

Stars Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Jean Smart, Ben Rappaport, Marin Ireland, Patch Darragh, Brett Rice, Steve Carell, Elisabeth Shue, Becky Ann Baker, Danny Flaherty, Charles Techman, Damian Young, Ann Harada, Jack Haley, Susan Misner, Rony Clanton, Mimi Rogers

Directed by David Frankel

Rated PG13

DRAMA/COMEDY

Hell Camp : Teen Nightmare (2023)

Made for Netflix, instant streaming on December 23rd in the US.

Filming location(s) unknown.

The story: In 1988, a former United States Air Force Sergent named Steve Cartisano had an idea.

Always good with kids, Steve believed he could help them.

He decided to start a company called Challenger Foundation.

The Challenger Foundation was a wilderness therapy camp for rebellious, troubled teens.

Steve believed in his idea as well as his staff who worked with him.

It would cost the parents of their troubled teen sixteen thousand dollars to enroll them in a boot camp-style therapy where the child was taken from their home and forced to go into the desert of Utah.

The program was 63 days of a forced 500-mile hike,  with very little food and sleep, and commands to obey their therapy leader, no matter how harsh their environment seemed to them.

There was never any intention of punishing or hurting the kids but rather teaching them to lead more positive lives.

Some kids learned the valuable lessons the camp was meant to teach but others have very little happy experiences to speak about.

Things at the camp went on the same as usual until allegations of abuse began surfacing.

Stars Chris Smith, Lance "Horsehair" Jaggar, camp survivor Nadine, camp survivor Kinney, camp survivor Matthew, Matthew's mother Kari, Debbie Cartisano, Max Jackson, Sharon Fuqua, David Fuqua, Charles Brofman, camp survivor Adam, Adam's father Larry, camp survivor Ashley, Catie Cartisano, camp survivor Kurt, camp survivor Amber, MaryLou

Directed by Liza Williams

Not Rated

DOCUMENTARY/HISTORY