If You Like Documentaries...Part 2 (2026)

[I review the Martin Short documentary, "Marty, Life is Short" as well as "The Crash," #1 on Netflix right now and "Man on the Run," all about Paul McCartney and Wings)

Marty, Life is Short (2026)

Martin Short is one of the funniest men on the planet but his life has not been funny.

Yes, Martin, or let's call him Marty, has had a great career in sketch comedy, creating some of the funniest characters both on SCTV and "Saturday Night Live" - Ed Grimley, Jiminy Glick - but he is also a movie star - "Three Amigos," "Father of the Bride" -  and is currently enjoying success with the Hulu series "Only Murders in the Building." He also has two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Actor Awards and a Tony under his belt and was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.  Oh, you didn't know he was Canadian?

But Marty's personal life has not been as fortunate.  He lost his older brother and both of his parents by the time he was 20 and lost his wife of 38 years, Nancy Dolman, a talented actress/singer in her own right, to whom Marty was devoted, in 2010.

The youngest of five children, Marty grew up in Hamilton, Ontario.  His father was a corporate executive for a Canadian steel company and hailed from Ireland.  His mother was Canadian and the concertmistress for the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra. "People were funny in my family." So says Marty.  But sadly, both parents died within two years of each other and Marty's older brother was killed in an accident. 

Before graduating from college (he eventually did), Marty moved to Toronto to try his hand at acting and eventually was cast in a production of "Godspell" where he worked with Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara and Paul Shaffer, who would all play significant roles in Marty's career, and many of whom, along with Marty, would eventually become a part of Toronto's version of Second City, then the Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV and eventually "Saturday Night Live." The rest is comedy history. 

Marty also met his soon-to-be wife, Nancy, during that production of "Godspell," and some might say she was the biggest influence on his life and her presence is felt through this film.

This is an intimate look at Martin Short's life and career. Home movies and some of Marty's best comedy bits abound as well as interviews with his fellow comedians, including the late Catherine O'Hara, who was a significant influence on Marty (the documentary is dedicated to her) and Steve Martin, who has a special bond with Marty and, can I say, doesn't look a bit different from how he looked 30 years ago?!

Marty didn't want to do this documentary, but his good friend, director Lawrence Kasdan ("The Big Chill," "Body Heat"), wanted to do it and direct it, so Marty relented, and I am so glad he did because this is not just about the facts of Marty's life and his many character and comedy moments, it is a highly inspirational journey that you don't want to miss. It's a joyful journey.  Despite the many tragedies in Marty's life, he chose to focus on joy.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this is not your dry facts of a life documentary.  This is an intimate, poignant and inspirational look inside the life and career of, not just a wonderful comedian, but a wonderful husband, father and overall good guy. It was so inspirational and joyful, in fact, that, I must sayyy, I cried a little. And I must sayyy, it's a must see film! (Netflix)

The Crash (2026)

A seventeen-year-old crashes her car into a brick wall at 100 miles per hour, killing her boyfriend and his friend.  Was it an accident or murder?

On July 31, 2022 Mackenzie Shirilla crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo and their friend, Davion Flanagan. Shirilla was a wannabe TikTok influencer, and she and her boyfriend, Dominic, lived together at his parents' house.  They had been together since he was 16 and she was 13.  Davion was a student athlete and part of their large friend group.  

Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene while Mackenzie was taken to the hospital seriously injured.  The police initially thought the crash was an accident but an examination of the vehicle deemed it in good working condition and the onboard computer system indicated the accelerator was being pressed at the time of the crash. And it didn't help that the couple had frequent conflicts with Shirilla dominating and threatening Dominic whenever he tried to break up with her. So Shirilla was arrested and tried for murder. And Shirilla doesn't come off well in home movies and social media as she struts around, smokes weed and flips off the camera, but does that make her a murderer?

Though Shirilla was convicted of murder and is currently serving time at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, she has vehemently denied that she murdered her friends, that she does not remember that night and there is a bit of a twist regarding her lack of memory. Her parents and other supporters are also vehement that it was an accident. 

Directed by Gareth Johnson, this documentary is currently the #1 most viewed movie on Netflix and shows footage of the grizzly crash, covers her trial and interviews Shirilla in prison as well as family, friends, supporters and doubters, and leaves it up to the viewer as to whether or not justice was served in this case. 

Rosy the Reviwer says...accident ot murder? You decide. (Netflix)

Man on the Run (2025)

What's a Beatle to do when he is no longer a Beatle?  Well, he reinvents himself.

Contrary to popular opinion, according to Paul, he wasn't the one who broke up The Beatles.  It was John!  However, if you are a hard-core Beatlemaniac, there might not be any real revelations here, but this is an engaging retelling of rock and roll history as Sir Paul himself recounts trying to reimagine his life as an ex-Beatle and coming up with the idea of Wings and what happened after. 

After the Beatles broke up, Paul worried that he wouldn't be able to write again, and according to him, he got into Scotch and drinking too much.  But then along came Linda, who Paul attributes to saving him.  I think Linda always got a bad rap. She was criticized for being American, for being in the band (Paul wanted her there), she couldn't sing, she couldn't play an instrument, yada, yada, yada...but think about it.  She gave up her career as a photographer, lived on a remote farm in Scotland, had four kids and went on the road with Paul, so I am thinking she was probably one of the best things that ever happened to Paul and to his credit, he gives her credit.

Putting Wings together was not easy.  Paul likens it to the movie "Spinal Tap." When he was interviewed by the press he was asked- "Are you too old for rock and roll?"  Paul was 33.  But he was not deterred.  In fact, Paul was the ultimate performer and unleashed himself in Wings. And then Wings played their last concert December 29, 1979 and Paul had to reinvent himself again.  And he did...as Paul McCartney.  His solo career began and the rest is rock history.

The film was directed by Morgan Neville, and McCartney fans will eat up the ’70s home videos, unseen archival footage, performances, and off-camera interviews with family and band members, plus some insightful voiceovers from Chrissie Hynde, Mick Jagger and Sean Ono Lennon (Paul and John made up before John's death), but it's the insights from Paul himself that are intimate and fascinating.

Rosy the Reviewer says...as a young girl, I thought I was going to marry Paul.  I learned so did every other young girl, including Oprah.  So, yes, I ate this up and so will you. (Amazon Prime)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

If You Like Documentaries... (2026)

[I review the Academy Award winning "All The Empty Rooms" as well as the true crime documentary "Murder in Monaco" and "Naked Ambition," the story of pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager]

All the Empty Rooms (2025)

News essayist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp memorialize the untouched bedrooms of children lost to school shootings.

Steve Hartman is an American broadcast journalist best known for his coverage of human interest stories for CBS News.  He is often called in for a "feel good" moment to end the broadcast, especially after bad events so that viewers can feel positive about the world again. 

However, with the ever increasing number of school shootings and usually sensationalized news about the shooter, Hartman felt we were becoming numb to it all. Hartman decided his feel good optimism was no longer enough.  He came up with the idea to highlight the dead children instead of the shooter, so he and photographer Lou Bopp embarked upon a trip across the country memorializing the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings. He has been doing this for seven years and this film, directed and produced by Joshua Seftel, highlights the last four children and their bedrooms on this journey of his, and the film won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short at this year's Academy Awards. 

The children featured in the film are:

• Nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs, a victim of the 2023 Covenant school shooting in Nashville.

• Dominic Blackwell, 14, killed at the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita, California

• Gracie Anne Muehlberger, 15, also a victim at Saugus High School

• Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, 9, died in the Uvalde school shooting in Uvalde, Texas 2022

The parents of these children had left the rooms exactly as they were when the children last left for school feeling that as long as the room exists, so do they in a way.  There is a tube of toothpaste with the cap left off; hair ties on the knob of the bedroom door; dirty clothes in a basket. Gracie Anne Muehlberger's parents shared that she put on shows for them in her room.  Her dad read a letter she wrote to her future self when she started high school. He could barely get through it.  I couldn't either. Videos and recordings of the children are shared as they lived their lives without a care in the world.

Hartman and Bopp are also featured with their own children.  Bopp photographs his daughter every year at the beginning of a new school year and the film ends with Hartman's daughter painting his nails.

I became teary almost immediately upon starting to watch this 34 minute film that attempts to capture the devastation of these childrens' parents. And it is devastating to see those untouched rooms just as those children left them before leaving for school the very last time, but it is important to see this film, to honor these children and their brief lives, so that we don't accept these shootings as a regular part of our lives. There is not preaching here. Not much needs to be said. The pictures tell it all. 

The film ends with the names of every child killed in school shootings since Columbine.  Too many names.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a reminder to hug and say "I love you" to your children, because "these could be your children." (Netflix).

Naked Ambition (2023)

Bunny Yeager might just be the most-famous photographer you have never heard of!  This documentary biopic attempts to change that.

Bunny Yeager had a stellar career - first as a model, then a photographer of models but not just any models - we are talking pin-ups, cheesecake, nudity.  Yeager shot the very first "Playboy" centerfold (January 1955) as well as that famous photo of Ursula Andress in her bikini for the James Bond movie, "Dr. No." She single-handedly popularized the bikini and was an early adopter of "selfies (she was a model herself after all)." Yeager also went on to discover Bettie Page as well as publishing 20 books. 

So why is it that someone so prolific and famous in the photographic industry is unheard of today?  

Well, I guess it's not a shock that a woman in a male dominated industry would be ignored. And Yeager was ambitious, something that was taboo for a woman back in the day.  But writer/director Dennis Scholl and fellow director, Kareem Tabsch, want to right that wrong with this documentary and make sure everyone remembers Bunny Yeager. 

Bunny Yeager began her career as a model, but as she became a wife and mother, she decided to step away from modeling and pursue photography instead as a way to earn money with a more flexible schedule. She was dubbed "The World's Most Beautiful Photographer."  She was noted for her high standards, her interesting choices of location and she could work fast.  She was able to highlight the personalities of her subjects, probably because she was working woman to woman. She had a successful career as a photographer, but it was her collaboration with Bettie Page and "Playboy" that brought both her and Page success and changed both of their lives. Page had just been considered a fetish model until Yeager elevated her. But then along came porn and feminism and pin-ups fell out of fashion and things went downhill for Yeager, forcing her to regroup.

At only 73 minutes, the film does a good job of covering Yeager's career and showcasing her work (hundreds of photos are displayed as well as home videos), but I wish the film had gone deeper into her motivations and what she had to go through as a woman photographer specializing in pinups and nudes, having to deal with the obscenity laws of the time, the ensuing popularity of porn and the negative view feminism had for pin-up photography.

But the conversations with Yeager's daughters, Lisa Irwin and Cherilu Duval, did yield some insight into Yeager's personal life. Daughter Cherilu was particularly embarrassed by her mother's photographic choices while Lisa felt her mother empowered other women. One can't help but wonder how her daughters' differing opinions of her affected her relationships with them.

"Talking heads," which included Dita Von Teese, Hugh Hefner, photographer Bruce Weber and Larry King and others weigh in, as well as Bettie Page herself via a recording, whose voice strangely did not match her photos, but probably that was the voice of a very old Bettie Page.

The film does a good job of highlighting Yeager's achievements as a pin-up girl photographer and as the first woman photographer for "Playboy." She captured the times.  I just wish it had gone deeper into what it must have been like for her to do this work in a "man's world" in the rather prudish time of the 1950's.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Yeager was ambitious and portrayed the power of female sexuality in her photographs, and this is a fitting tribute to a woman who was an ironic feminist. It was an amazing life that I am surprised has not been made into a dramatic biopic. Maybe now it will. (Netflix)

Murder in Monaco (2025)

An examination of the mysterious murder of billionaire Edmond Safra in Monaco in 1999.

Billionaire Edmond Safra died along with one of his nurses in 1999 in a fire in his Monaco penthouse.  Authorities were initially led to believe by his other nurse, Ted Maher, that the 67-year-old billionaire was the victim of a bungled burglary, but as this documentary plays out, the circumstances surrounding Safra's death and the aftermath just got "stranger and stranger."

Edmond Safra, one of the richest men in the world, was a Lebanese-Brazilian banker living in a 10,000 square foot penthouse in Monaco with panic buttons, bullet-proof windows and a safe room. He had Parkinson's Disease and was on medications that made him paranoid.  He had full-time nursing care and was surrounded by bodyguards.  His death caused a media storm giving way to various conspiracy theories about who was responsible.  Safra was found dead of affixiation in his safe room along with his nurse, Vivian Torrente.  His other nurse, Ted Maher, escaped with stab wounds and said the assassins got in and attacked them. But how did intruders get into an apartment that appeared inpenatrable?  

The suspicious circumstances surrounding Safra's death created an international media storm giving way to various conspiracy theories about who was really responsible.  Was it Russian mobsters?  Safra conducted business with Russian oligarchs until he informed the FBI that they were trying to launder money through American banks.  Or was it his wife, Lily, a woman with some rich dead husbands in her past who yearned to be a famous socialite and who stood to inherit billions? Or was it Maher himself, the nurse who was accused of starting the fire to set the stage to rescue Safra and become a hero? And did Safra die because the authorities took too long to put out the fire and was there a cover-up, using Maher as a scapegoat?  Monaco relies on its reputation as a safe and secure haven for the very rich, so when someone is murdered there, not good. So many questions in this crazy murder mystery.

And then things get really crazy.

Written by Sam Hobkinson and directed by Hodges Usry, this true-crime documentary explores the various conspiracies surrounding Safra's death.  It's a murder mystery with a trial and a prison escape and some judicial corruption and much more.  The film features interviews with reporters, Safra's banking associates, lawyers, cell mates and exclusive interviews with Maher, whose life was a whole crazy story on its own. He eventually went on trial for Safra's death and it was the O.J. Trial of Europe. But the story doesn't end there.

The moral of this story?  Sometimes it's not that much fun being a billionaire.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like true crime about the rich and famous with all kinds of real life twists and turns, this is for you. (Netflix)

See You Next Time!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

Sick of the Pretend World of Christmas Movies? Get Back To Real Life With These Compelling Documentaries!

[I review "Cocaine Quarterback: Signal Caller for the Cartel," "John Candy: I Like Me" and "Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip To Remember"]

Cocaine Quarterback: Signal Caller for the Cartel (2025)

The true, almost unbelievable, story of convicted drug trafficker Owen Hanson's rise from USC football player to smuggling drugs for one of the world's most dangerous cartels.

What do you do when you get a sports scholarship to USC to play volleyball and you are faced with losing your position if you don't get stronger?  Why, you go down to Mexico and get some steroids.  And what do you do when you bulk up and get drafted as a walk-on to play USC football?  Why, you play football.  And what do you do when your football career doesn't take off?  Why, you start smuggling drugs.  Those were the decisions that Owen Hanson made, and this is his story.

Growing up in Redondo Beach, California, Owen lived a modest lifestyle.  He was a star high school volleyball player, so was thrilled to be awarded a scholarship to play volleyball for USC.  But when that didn't work out as planned, he was able to join the USC football program as a walk-on in 2004.  But while at college, he subsidized his lifestyle as a campus drug dealer feeling he needed the money to "fit in with those USC kids."  Who knew that small side hustle would turn into a major illegal enterprise?

After college when his teammates were getting drafted for the NFL, Hanson was at loose ends so he turned to real estate, but then the 2008 recession hit and he was once again wondering what to do with this life.  Hey, what about that drug thing he used to do?  Sounds like a plan.

Hanson was able to align himself with a Mexican drug lord (not sure how one does that) and soon was hobnobbing with celebrities, athletes and other high rollers. He trafficked cocaine, meth, ecstasy and heroin in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Australia as well as running an offshore sports betting website. He claimed he made $1 million a day at one point.  And according to the Attorney General's Southern California office, Hanson was also the leader of a violent racketeering enterprise called "ODOG," which used intimidation and force to keep customers in line.

But then, enter gambler R.J. Cipriani, AKA Robin Hood 702, who supposedly gave his gambling winnings to people in need.  Hanson aligned with him in an elaborate scheme to launder his drug money and that worked for a time, but when Cipriani lost $2.5 million of Hanson's money playing blackjack, Hanson was in big trouble with the cartel.  Hanson then sent Cipriani death threats, poured fake blood on his Cipriani's parents' graves and sent videos of executions to his family members to try to get his money back.  Well, don't mess with Robin Hood 702, especially his parents.  Now the FBI was involved and they were on to Hanson.

And that's only part of the story. There is much more.

Directed by Jody McVeigh-Schultz (And Mark Wahlberg is one of the executive producers), much of Hanson's story is told by him from prison along with many of his cohorts. Believe it or not, we watched this series because our son said one of the kids he knew from high school baseball was in the series! And there he was! 

Is Hanson still serving time? Does Hanson have any new side hustles?  Well, you will have to watch and find out.  Easily bingeable as each of the three episodes has a run time of about 40 minutes. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...a compelling three-part true-crime series about ego, power, and poor judgment. (Amazon Prime)

John Candy: I Like Me (2025)

An affectionate profile of actor John Candy directed by Colin Hanks.

John Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian who was probably best known for his work in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and "Uncle Buck," though he starred in over 35 films before his untimely death from a heart attack at the age of 43.

Hanks (son of Tom Hanks) relies on rare and never-before-seen archival footage, outtakes, private home videos, audio commentary, movie clips and interviews with family and his famous friends to tell John Candy's story. 

Born in 1950, John grew up in Toronto, Ontario, in a working class Catholic family. Sadly his father died at the age of 35 from heart disease when John was 5 - on his 5th birthday! John was interested in theatre and found himself as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City in the 1970's and its SCTV sketch series alongside Eugene Levy, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara and Rick Moranis, all of whom gained fame of their own. And then Hollywood came calling.

This is a positive profile, and that is fitting, since no one seemed to have a bad word to say about him.  He was a sort of "every man," a good guy. However, underneath the comedy was a guy who suffered from a sometimes crippling anxiety and the fear that he would die young, like his Dad.  He felt he was on borrowed time and sadly he was.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a wonderful tribute to a wonderful actor. It's fun hanging out with him again. (Amazon Prime)

Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember (2025)

Actor Chris Hemsworth embarks on a motorcycle road trip with his dad, Craig, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

After consulting with clinical psychologist Dr. Suraj Samtani and learning about Reminiscence Therapy, Chris Hemsworth goes on a road trip to Melbourne and the Australian Outback with his father, Craig, 71, to not only spend time together but to help his dad remember.

Revisiting past experiences is a great way to help cognition.  Memories from the past help the brain. This is part of Reminiscence Therapy and Chris is hoping it will help his Dad, who has the early signs of Alzheimer's.  Since his dad used to race motorcycles, they embark on a motorcycle road trip, starting in Melbourne where Chris spent his teen years.  They return to the house they lived in during the 1990's that Chris has completely redone to look like it did when they lived there (thanks to the cooperation of the current owners).  His mother, Leonie, Craig's wife of over 40 years, joins them and they watch some home movies and look at family photos.

And then it's off to Bulman, in the Northern Territory, where Chris and his brothers spent their very young years. The town is primarily an Aboriginal community four and a half hours from the nearest town.  Craig had found a job there rustling buffalo and cattle, and Chris was able to find many of the men who had worked with Craig 35 years ago. Seeing old friends also helps the brain, because it requires us to think back to how we knew our old friends and what we did together. And interacting with community slows the rate of cognitive decline.

With family photos and archival footage, we see the life that Chris led  There is a photo that Chris has of his dad and him in a spot in Bulman and they are able to find it in the present day in a very poignant moment. But for all of the bonding that Chris and his dad do, Chris is reluctant to ask his dad how he feels about the diagnosis and his memory loss.  He admits on camera that part of the reason he doesn't ask is because he doesn't want to face the answer. But on their last night together, the two camp out and he finally asks his dad how he feels about the diagnosis and Craig shares what he is going through.

It is interesting to see Craig's transformation as the film goes on.  He is at first forgetful and quiet, but as the two take their journey of remembering, Craig is seen to open up more.

Chris' mother and Craig's wife of over 40 years weighs in as well as Dr. Samtani. And then, if I might digress for a moment, there is Chris sharing his feelings in some juicy closeups as he recounts his childhood.  He is one handsome guy.

Directed by Tom Barbor-Might, this is a bittersweet journey.  On the sweet side, Chris bonds with his Dad and the trip seems to be helping Craig, but on the bitter side, Hemsworth knows that he is losing the man his father once was.  He also reveals that he has inherited two copies of the APOE4 gene, one from his mother and one from his father, which makes it eight to ten times more likely that he will eventually develop Alzheimer's. And sadly, every year there are over 10 million new cases of dementia.  This film sheds light on that as well as what we can all do to ward it off. And it reminds us to not take our parents for granted.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a revealing look at the issue of dementia but even if you are not interested in that, this is a very heartwarming and important story of father/son love (it brought tears to my eyes). But it's also a cool road trip and it shows the very kind, human side of a superstar. There is something here for everyone. (Hulu)

See You Next Time!

And Happy Holidays!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!

My November 2025 Movie Picks and Pans!

[I review the psychological thriller, "The Woman in Cabin 10," as well as the black comedy "The Roses" and Ben and Amy Stiller's documentary about their parents, "Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost."]

The Woman in Cabin 10 (2025)

An investigative journalist becomes involved in a tangled mystery while on a luxury cruise ship.

Recovering from the trauma of witnessing a source's murder, investigative journalist Laura "Lo" Blacklock (Keira Knightley) receives an invitation from terminally ill billionaire Anne Bullmer (Lisa Loven Kongsli) to join her and her husband, Richard (Guy Pearce), and some other wealthy guests, aboard their luxury yacht sailing to a fundraising gala in Norway.  Anne wants Laura to write about her new charitable foundation.

The first evening at sea, Lo ducks into Cabin 10 to avoid her ex-boyfriend, Ben (David Ajala), a photographer working for the Bullmers, and encounters a mysterious blonde woman (Gitte Witt) there. After dinner, Anne privately reveals to Lo that she has stopped taking her medication and plans to donate all of her fortune to charity. 

That night, waking to a ruckus and a woman's scream next door, Lo finds a bloody handprint by Cabin 10 and witnesses someone fall overboard. She alerts the ship and despite Laura's insistence that there was a woman in Cabin 10, all guests are accounted for and she is told that no guest was staying in Cabin 10. 

Did she imagine it?  Was it a hallucination brought on by my her guilt about her source? No, Laura knows what and who she saw so she sets out to solve this mystery.

In the meantime, the trip continues.  When Laura meets with Anne again, Anne appears to have forgotten their earlier conversation and when Laura sneaks into Cabin 10, she finds blonde hair in the sink drain. Then some other strange things start to happen. But the more she asks questions, the more the crew and guests refuse to believe her suspicions and in fact start thinking there is something mentally wrong with her.  But as she gets closer and closer to solving the mystery that is unfolding on the ship, Laura realizes her life is in danger.

What is going on?  Who was that blonde woman in Cabin 10?  And who was it that Laura saw fall off the ship?  And why won't anyone believe her?

Based on the 2016 novel by Ruth Ware, adapted by Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse and Simon Stone and directed by Stone, this is a classic, old-fashioned, psychological thriller.  You have the troubled journalist, a fish out of water hanging with very rich people (played by some recognizable British actors - Hannah Waddingham, David Morrissey, Art Malik, et al); everyone on the yacht is seemingly suspicious; our heroine witnesses a murder but no one believes her; and there is a big twist.

If you read the book, you know how this will go. Or maybe not.  I'm not sure what it says about me or the book, but I read it and could not remember the twist.  I'm also not sure what it says about me that I couldn't help but think how fun it would be for there to be an episode of "Below Deck" that featured a real life murder mystery like this.  But, I know, that would be pushing "reality TV" too far.

Rosy the Reviewer says...despite some "Huh?" moments and Laura doing some stupid stuff, this is a fast-moving psychological thriller reminiscent of those old Hitchcock films that will satisfy fans of "woman in jeopardy" stories. (Netflix)

 The Roses (2025)

A "reimagining" of the 1989 film "The War of the Roses."

I almost dislike remakes of perfectly good films as much as a I dislike sequels, and the original "The War of the Roses" is a perfectly good movie that I think would stand up today, but who can resist Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch as a married couple battling it out when their marriage goes wrong? And there are some distinct differences between the two films, so I am going to go along with the "reimagining" angle instead of calling this a remake.  And if you never saw "The War of the Roses," then this will all be new to you. 

Architect Theo (Cumberbatch) and aspiring chef Ivy (Colman) meet in London in the kitchen of a restaurant where Theo is having a work lunch and when Ivy shares that she is moving to America, Theo says they should go together. Ivy replies "We haven't even had sex yet," to which Theo replies, "That's minutes away."  And he was right.  Off they go to have hot and heavy sex in the cold walk-in fridge.

Fast forward ten years, Theo and Ivy are married with two children, Hattie (Delaney Quinn) and Roy (Ollie Robinson), and living in Mendocino, California (but actually filmed in England in Devon - I thought that was the case, because I lived in Northern California and used to go to Mendocino quite often and it didn't look familiar. So then couldn't help but wonder why Mendocino)? 

However, the cracks in the marriage are already starting to show.  Ivy is a free spirit who spoils the children with desserts and fun while Theo is more regimented and health and exercise conscious.  But then, since Ivy had given up her career dreams to raise the children, Theo presents her with a restaurant. She names it "We've Got Crabs!"

But later, while Ivy's restaurant takes off, Theo loses his job in a catastrophic way, and in a reversal role, becomes the stay-at-home dad where he imposes his discipline on the kids, even having them sign commitment documents to exercise and eat right. And this time, with Ivy's success, she tells Theo she will pay for him to build them a dream house, which he does.  

So times passes.  Hattie (Hala Finley) and Roy (Wells Rappaport) are now teens, and Ivy starts to feel shut-out of the kids' lives, and Theo is jealous of Ivy's success.  Despite attempts to save the marriage and with the kids away at boarding school, the marriage goes to hell. Theo wants a divorce but he thinks he deserves to keep the house, since he designed it and built it.  However, Ivy thinks she deserves it because she paid for it.  In fact, Ivy doesn't want Theo to have anything, so the two make each other's lives unbearable with cruel tactics - really bad stuff like trying to hurt each other's businesses and reputations. And then it gets worse!

Directed by Jay Roach from a screenplay by Tony McNamara (based on the 1981 novel "The War of the Roses" by Warren Adler), Colman and Cumberbatch are great to watch, even when they are doing terrible things to each other. But I couldn't help think that it took too long to get to the mean, I mean, fun parts.  I remember the earlier film, "The War of the Roses" being faster moving and funnier.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this film is all about Colman and Cumberbatch, and if you like them and you never saw the original, you might enjoy this film, but I did see the original and liked that one better. But watching Colman and Cumberbatch was worth it to me (for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime).

Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost (2025)

Amy and Ben Stiller reminisce about their famous parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

Stiller & Meara were a husband-and-wife comedy team made up of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara that was popular primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. The duo made frequent appearances on television variety shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Stiller and Meara were among the earliest graduates of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe to become famous.  They were regulars on "The Ed Sullivan Show, but the two also had separate careers. Anne starred on "Archie Bunker's Place" from 1979-1982 and had film roles and Jerry had a career boost as George Costanza's father on "Seinfeld."

Jerry saved everything so after their deaths, their children Ben and Amy Stiller go back to the apartment where they were raised and where their parents lived for so many years, and as Ben and Amy go through all of the mementos of their parents' lives, theirs and their parents' stories unfold with the help of home movies and other archival footage. 

Though this film covers Anne's and Jerry's careers and shares footage from some of their comedy bits, this heartfelt film, written and directed by Ben and Amy, it is almost more about what it was like for Ben and Amy growing up with famous parents who worked together.

Anne would often say it was difficult to see where the act ended and the marriage began. Likewise, the kids would hear them yelling and weren't sure if they were rehearsing or fighting. Ben and Amy share anecdotes and personal observations about their lives with these remarkable people who they clearly loved and admired. And it's a remarkable documentary.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a poignant and fun tribute to a wonderful pair of actor/comedians who deserve to be remembered. (Apple+)

See You Next Time!

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And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!