Hotel Transylvania 4: Trans4mania

Featuring the voices of: Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, Jim Gaffigan, Fran Drescher, and David Spade. Directed By: Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska Where I Watched It: Amazon English Audio Description Available: Yes The Plot: After picking up a love interest (Hahn) in the last film, Dracula (Some dude) decides it’s time to move on from the Hotel, and leave it to his daughter (Gomez) and her human husband (Samberg) to run. But Dracula gets cold feet after realizing his son-in-law is kind of a doofus, so he makes up a reason why he can’t retire, which … Continue reading Hotel Transylvania 4: Trans4mania

Antlers

Starring: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Amy Madigan, Graham Greene, and Rory Cochrane. Directed By: Scott Cooper Where I Watched it: HBO MAX English audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A teacher (Russell) enlists the help of her Sheriff brother (Plemons), when she suspects that a student in her class (Thomas) might be getting abused at home, after she finds several alarming objects in his possession. Of course, there is something far darker…more… sinister. Boo! What Works: First, hats off to Scott Cooper, who I had no idea was directing this until I checked IMDB. For those unfamiliar … Continue reading Antlers

The Ice Age Adventures Of Buckwild

Starring: The only original voice cast returning is Simon Pegg. Poor guy. They did pay Justina Machado to join, but either no one else wanted to come back, or they didn’t want to pay them. Directed By: John C. Duncan Where I Watched It; Disney Plus English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: Disney, eager to find a way to continue to stretch out the already stretched Ice Age franchise, decides to fire original voice actors, and create a spinoff featuring two characters that weren’t even in the original franchise, joined by an even newer character, in hopes that people … Continue reading The Ice Age Adventures Of Buckwild

A Hero

Starring: Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, Sahar Goldstein, and Sarina Farhadi. (And if spell check didn’t just mess all that up, #winning.) Directed By: Asghar Farhadi. Where I Watched It: Amazon English Audio Description Available?: Thank God, Yes. The Plot: Raheem is a man currently on leave from a debtors prison that is trying to get his financial affairs in order when a purse full of gold crosses his path, and the decisions he makes could change his life forever. Should he use the money to pay off his debts, or is his honor more important as he looks to set … Continue reading A Hero

Spencer

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Jack Farthing, Sally Hawkins, Freddie Spry, and Sean Harris. Directed By: Paulo Laureen Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available?: Yes. The Plot: At the end of her rope, Diana (Kristen Stewart) attends a family traditional Christmas, where she battles her own mental health, her desire to be a mother to her kids, and a strong need to end her marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). What Works: The kids who play William and Harry are delightful, and the best scenes in the entire film revolve around Diana being (or at least … Continue reading Spencer

The Mitchells Vs The Machines

Featuring The Voices Of: Abby Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Olivia Coleman, Eric Andre, Beck Bennett, Fred Armisen,John Legend, Chrissy Teegin, Blake Griffin, and Conan O’Brien. Directed By: Mike Rianda Where I Watched it: Netflix English Audio Description Available?: Yes The plot: When it’s time for a young girl (Jacobsen) to leave the nest and go to college, her dad (McBride) has a hard time letting go, and decides to make her trip to her college a fun road trip for the whole family. Then an apocalypse led by AI (Coleman) turns their road trip into a hell scape. What … Continue reading The Mitchells Vs The Machines

The Green Knight

Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, and Joel Edgerton. Directed by David Lowry Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: An adaptation of the classic tale of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) and the Green Knight, directed by the guy who had Casey Affleck walk around in.a white sheet for an entire film. What Works: I know this film is divisive, and I only see a few reasons… maybe minor changes I’ll get to later… as to why this film isn’t in the Oscar conversation. But, real talk. Can we please start talking more about David … Continue reading The Green Knight

Ghostbusters Afterlife

Starring: Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Shoreh Agadashloo, JK Simmons, Bokeem Woodbine, Josh Gad, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver. Directed By: Jason Reitman Where I Watched It: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available: Yes The Plot: A struggling mother (Coon) finds out her father, from whom she has been long estranged, has passed away and left her a creaky old house in a small sleepy town. So, she packs up her two kids (Wolfhard/Grace) and heads out to tie up loose ends. But, she really had no … Continue reading Ghostbusters Afterlife

The Power Of The Dog

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Directed By Jane Campion. The Plot: Two brothers (Cumberbatch and Plemons) run a ranch, and their lives are forever changed when one marries a widow (Dunst), who has a rather interesting son (Smit-McPhee) that seems very at odds with the environment around him. Lots of long staring and heavy thinking ensue. What Works and What Doesn’t: Usually, I break these into two fairly divided sections, but The Power Of The Dog is not a typical film, so it gets atypical treatment. This is not my first rodeo with Jane Campion’s … Continue reading The Power Of The Dog

Mayor Pete

Starring: Pete and Chastain and a bunch of other people along the way. Directed By: Jesse Moss Where I Watched it: Amazon English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot: A documentary attempting to chart the meteoric rise of the Mayor of South Bend as he embarks on his quest to become the first openly gay President of the United States. What Works: Well, the runtime is pretty accessible. Not to insult Pete, but I think a long documentary about him would be a bit much at this point in time. Hopefully, he will continue to be a major player in … Continue reading Mayor Pete

The Last Night In Soho

Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg, Michael Ajao, Syonnve Karlson, Jessie Mai Li, and Terence Stamp. Directed By Edgar Wright Where I Watched it: Apple (VOD) English Audio Description Available: Yes The Plot: Ellie (McKenzie) heads off to school with big dreams, and stumbles into a portal back to the 1960’s where everything seems much sexier, and Ellie finds herself engaged in this fantastical world, that soon starts to unravel everything she knows. What Works: I don’t want to spoil things, but I might say some things here that are slightly spoilery depending on how much … Continue reading The Last Night In Soho

Dear Evan Hansen

Starring: Ben Platt, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Danny Pino, Colton Ryan, Amandla Stenberg, and ink Dodani, Directed By Stephen Chbosky Where I Watched it: Apple VOD English Audio Description Available? Yes The Plot: Based on the Tony winning musical about a despondent youth (Platt) who after a chance encounter with a classmate (Ryan), who shortly after ends up committing suicide, is thrown into a complicated world of white lies and blurred lines that continue to get out of control. What Works: So the source material is strong. I loved hearing so many of the songs here, and especially … Continue reading Dear Evan Hansen

Promised Land (Pilot)

Starring: John Ortiz (and I suppose Bellamy Young?) Where I Watched it: Hulu (though it originally airs on ABC) English Audio Description Available? So far, yes. The Plot: Centers around a Latinx family that owns a winery, and has done rather well for themselves… but dark secrets abound. What Works: So, there’s a natural desire to jump up and down about John Ortiz finally getting to lead his own…something. He’s worked so hard in supporting character roles for years, I want this to work for him. I’m also a fan of Bellamy Young. I’m not familiar with the rest of … Continue reading Promised Land (Pilot)

Nobody

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, RZA, and Michael Ironsides. Directed By Ilya Naishuller Where I Watched it: HBO MAX English Audio Description Available?: Yes Plot: A seemingly mild mannered middle aged man (Odenkirk) has his life turned upside down after a home invasion goes too far… and his daughter loses her kitty Kay bracelet. What Works:This was a ton of fun. I had heard some really good things, and in a sub genre already dominated with the Taken and john Wick universes, it was a nice take on a retreaded format. And imagining Bob Odenkirk as an action … Continue reading Nobody

The French Dispatch

Starring: Benecio Del Toro, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Tulsa Swinton, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, Jeffrey Wright, Saorise Ronan, Owen Wilson, Lois Smith, Tony Revolutions, Anjelica Bette Fellini, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Waltz, Anjelica Huston, Liev Schrieber, Lea Seymour, Alex Lawther, Rupert Friend, Griffin Dunne, Fisher Stevens, and Jason Schwartzman. Directed By Wes Anderson Where I Watched It: Apple (VOD) English Audio Description Available?: Yes The Plot:Follows three different journalistic accounts told by reporters of the fictitious French Dispatch of the Kansas Evening Sun, an American outpost set in a fictional city in France. Truly, this … Continue reading The French Dispatch