[I review the movies "Another Simple Favor," "Becoming Led Zeppelin," "Holland" and "A Family Affair," with a bit of a rant about Nicole Kidman at the end]
Another Simple Favor (2025)
If you saw the first film, this one begins five years later.
Emily (Blake Lively) is in jail (that happened in the first film) and Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is now a true crime vlogger and has written a book about Emily and all that happened leading up to her imprisonment (if you didn't see the first film,you might be confused because there is not a lot of exposition about what happened in the first film. And even if you did see the first film, it's been seven years between films so if you care, click on the link for my review above for a synopsis of the first movie). But then, Emily appears at Stephanie's book signing. Turns out, Emily has been released on appeal and is getting ready to marry Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), a wealthy Italian with mob connections. She wants Stephanie to be her maid of honor at her wedding in Capri. If you saw the first film, you might go "Huh?" But basically Emily blackmails Stephanie into being in the wedding.
Arriving in Capri with her agent, Vicky (Alex Newell), Stephanie meets Dante and discovers that Emily's ex-husband, Sean (Henry Golding), and her son, Nicky (Ian Ho), are also there along with Emily's addled mother, Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins), her aunt, Linda (Allison Janney), and Dante's mother, Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci, who doesn't like Emily.
And then Sean is murdered and Stephanie, suspecting that Emily may have something to do with it, puts on her sleuthing hat once again. However, then Stephanie becomes a suspect. Crazy twists and turns and surprises ensue, none of them very believable.
What I liked:
Blake Lively's clothes. She wears the biggest hat you have ever seen in a movie.
The beautiful Capri landscapes (I have been there and it is indeed gorgeous).
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What I didn't like:
Everything else.
It's an all-star cast with all of the characters engaging in snappy dialogue. Lively and Kendrick are good but not good enough to save this overlong film, snappy dialogue notwithstanding. By the way, did I mention I don't like snappy dialogue? I mean, who talks like that? And there are many "Huh?" moments. Written by Darcey Bell, Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis and directed by Paul Feig, much of the film was not realistic and did not make sense. I like twists and turns but sometimes there can be too many that are obviously there to explain unrealistic stuff. C'mon, is it realistic to think that Stephanie would have anything to do with Emily after the first movie (again, you had to have seen that one)? I say no.
There is a hint at the end of the film that yet another sequel is in the offing. Please...I say no again.
Rosy the Reviewer says...if you didn't see the first film, this one might confuse you. Should you go back and see the first film so this one makes more sense? Not really. See the first one to see the first one because I liked that one. But you can skip this one. (Amazon Prime)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025)
How the rock band Led Zeppelin came to be.
The title of this documentary is literal. It's all about "becoming." The film does not go beyond the early journeys of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant to their place in rock history. It covers their childhoods in post-war Britain, a time of hardship, when British kids discovered American music; their meeting in the summer of 1968; and meteoric ascendancy culminating in their breakthrough second album and first U.S. tour in 1970 when they become the No. 1 band in the world.
As a kid, Jimmy Page was obsessed with his guitar. John Paul Jones' parents were both entertainers, his mother a singer and his dad, a comedian. Bonham was married and Plant was basically homeless as he tried to make his way as a singer. Jones and Page were friends and both were session musicians with successful careers and both played on Shirley Bassey's recording of "Goldfinger" and John Paul Jones did the arrangement for the hit song "To Sir, With Love."
So you have two established session players, a homeless singer and a drummer whose wife was going to kill him if he took a chance on an unknown band. Page had already been in the Yardbirds band and was trying to keep that band going but when the four played together, he realized they were going to be something totally different from a New Yardbirds. Critics didn't like their first album because you couldn't really sing along with their songs or dance to their music and it took awhile to win over audiences. There is some amazing footage of one of their first performances where the audience seems confused. Some members are digging it; some have their hands over their ears. There are all kinds of little "ah-ha" tidbits and moments like that in this fascinating film.
The surviving band members all tell their own stories with the late Bonham, who died in 1980 and gave few interviews when he was alive, represented by a never-before-heard audio interview. The film written by Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty and directed by MacMahon features full, never-before-seen footage of the band's early American and British concerts and unseen material from the band's personal archives. This is not a gossipy behind the scenes tell-all. It's an authorized documentary that the guys are all in on, and it's all about the music (there is lots and lots of music) with the band members sharing their musical influences, how they wrote their songs, instrumentation decisions etc.
I am reviewing this completely from the perspective of someone who did not know that much about Led Zeppelin. Somehow, as a young girl and a die-hard Beatles fan, I missed them. The hardest rock I liked was the Rolling Stones, but when I met Hubby, who was a fan, I learned about them and after seeing this wonderful documentary, I learned even more. Now I am also a fan. I just wish I could sing along with their songs!
Rosy the Reviewer says...a must for rock and roll enthusiasts and especially for Led Zeppelin fans. (Amazon Prime)
When teacher Nancy Vandergroot discovers a secret, her picture-perfect life in Holland, Michigan is upended.
It's 2000 and Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman) is a teacher in the small Midwestern town of Holland, Michigan. She lives a stereotypical middle-class existence with her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen), an optometrist, and 13-year-old son Harry (Jude Hill). But due to frequent absences, Nancy begins to suspect that perhaps Fred is having an affair and living a double life.
She confides in Dave (Gael Garcia Bernal), a fellow teacher, and he helps Nancy find out what Fred has been doing. Romantic feelings ironically develop between Nancy and Dave, and what Nancy and Dave discover about Fred doesn't have anything to do with romance but, yes, he has a double life and it's something much more sinister than an affair. Oh, the secrets that abound in little midwestern towns like Holland, Michigan.
I was drawn to this film because I actually grew up only 30 miles from Holland, Michigan. Holland is a relatively small town with a, you guessed it, Dutch theme complete with a tulip festival where everyone dresses up in Dutch costumes. I visited there many times. But in general, it's a typical midwestern little town with the usual midwestern values. I chuckled at the Michigan accents which were spot on and Fred even had a huge model train set which my Dad also had.
Written by Andrew Sodroski and directed by Mimi Cave, the film tries to be a satire about the secrets behind the pleasant facade of small town life and how people try to hide from reality behind costumes and a make-believe world, but sadly despite what is supposed to be a sinister mystery with twists and turns, nothing much happens and Nicole, Matthew and Gael don't have much to do. It could have used some dark humor. Where are the Coen Brothers, when you need them?
Rosy the Reviewer says...probably one of the most odd little movies I have seen in a long time. I would love to have heard the pitch that got this thing made. (Amazon Prime)
Older-woman, younger man...yada, yada, yada.
Chris Cole (Zac Efron) is a self-absorbed actor who meets the much older, Brooke (Nicole Kidman), a widowed author. Her daughter, Zara (Joey King), had been Chris's personal assistant and he has come over to her house to apologize for mistreating her. He is actually a rather arrogant, dim, creep. She quit because of it. Zara isn't home. She is out running errands and... what? By the time she gets home, Chris and Brooke are having sex. Chris may be an arrogant, dim, creep but he's a hot arrogant, dim, creep.
Zara catches them and is appalled (so was I). Chris promises Zara it won't happen again, and he lures Zara back to work by offering her a position as an associate producer. He then invites Brooke to dinner, and guess what happens again? Yep!
Written by Carrie Solomon and directed by Richard LaGravenese, the film has the usual ups and downs of a May/December rom com except not very much rom and not very much com, despite the daughter trying to break Chris and Brooke up. And there isn't enough drama for it to be a drama, either. Sadly, despite the presence of Nicole and Zac, the characters aren't likeable, the film isn't particularly hot or interesting nor does it add anything new to the older woman/younger man genre.
Rosy the Reviewer says...Older-woman, younger man...yada, yada, yada. (Netflix)
Okay, here is the rant I promised...
What is the deal with Nicole Kidman?
So, "A Family Affair (reviewed above) is yet another older woman/younger man movie starring Nicole Kidman. Can't she do any movies where she is not a repressed woman who needs to have sex with younger men to feel alive? I recently reviewed "Babygirl," and I thought the movie was so cringey that, despite Nicole's usual all-in performance, I concluded it was the movie that was the reason she was overlooked for an Oscar nomination. It was bad. And that's not the only repressed older woman/younger man themed movie or TV series that she has starred in recently. In addition to "A Family Affair" and "Babygirl," there was also "The Perfect Couple," all within the last two years! And I could add "Holland (see above). It's not older woman/young man but she once again plays a repressed woman.
Now I am not against older women and younger men getting together. I like younger men myself. And she is certainly not the only older actress in movies like that but the problem for Nicole is that those older woman with a younger man kinds of roles are becoming a cliche with her, and worse, the movies haven't been that good. I hated "Babygirl" and neither "A Family Affair" or "The Perfect Couple" were stand outs. Maybe she realized she was playing the same roles over and over and that's how she ended up in that strange little film, "Holland."
Now don't get me wrong. I really like Nicole and have been a fan for years. Nicole is a nice looking woman but she is 57 years old. That's like 100 in Hollywood years, so I guess that could explain her acting choices. I know it's not easy for a woman of a certain age in Hollywood, even if she is still beautiful, but she has been in three movies with that theme in the last two years. And I am not alone pointing this out. She is becoming known as The Queen of the Age Gap Movies.
But maybe this rant isn't really all about Nicole. Maybe it's a rant about how actresses of a certain age are treated in the film industry, forcing them to perhaps make career choices they might not otherwise make. At any rate, I just want Nicole to make films worthy of her talent.
Rant over.
See You Next Time!
