Get Ready For The 2026 Golden Globes With These Golden Globe Nominated Films, Part 2!

[I review these Golden Globe nominated films: "Wicked: For Good," "Bugonia" "It Was Just An Accident," and "Sentimental Value:]

Wicked: For Good (2025)

Part II of "Wicked."

Well, "Wicked" is back and I have good news and bad news. 

The good news?

After over a year's wait, "Wicked" is back.

The bad news?

"Wicked" is back.

I kid.  But only a little bit, because as I said in my review of Part I - absolutely no reason to turn this musical into a two-parter, except for greed. The powers that be have taken a two hour and 45 minute Broadway musical and turned it into a five hour movie experience.  And sorry, there wasn't enough content nor hummable songs here to double the size of this story.  So to see the entire film in the theatre, you not only had to pay twice in the movie theatre but also get yourself off the couch and dressed to go out twice.  This movie wasn't worth that.

And since it's been a year since Part I debuted, it would have been nice to get some kind of recap about what happened in Part I. Going in, I did understand this was all a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" and how Elpheba became the Wicked Witch of the West. However, "Wicked" is not my favorite musical.  I have only seen it once in a theatre, so I needed to be reminded of the details I was left with in Part I. That was not done, so I was in the dark for much of Part 2. 

To save you from that same fate, here is a quick recap of Part I.  

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has green skin so has popularity issues.  However, she forges a friendship in school with Glinda (Ariana Grande), who is popular.  All goes well for awhile until some boy trouble and then suppression against the talking animals.  When Glinda and Elphaba go to the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) to get help for the animals, they discover that the animals are in deep trouble and the Wizard and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) are behind it, so Elphaba goes against the Wizard and Madame Morrible and is branded a traitor. Madame Morrible calls her "Wicked," hence "Wicked Witch of the West," get it?

So that's basically Part I, which I had to remind myself of with recaps on the Internet.  You would think for a two-and-a-half hour movie, there would have been time for a recap in Part II.  

Anyway, so Part II, directed once again by Jon M. Chu, begins with a time jump after Elphaba's escape in Part I. Glinda is now "Glinda the Good" and engaged to Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey, who just happens to be People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" this year), and the hunt is on for Elphaba, who continues her animal rights campaign but who is now branded "The Wicked Witch of the West." And in the course of the movie, we also learn where the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion came from and that's basically it. What will happen to Elphaba? By the time I found out, I didn't care anymore. And just to give you some context, my nine-year-old Granddaughter didn't really like Part II either.

But okay, that aside, I didn't like Jeff Goldblum and his auto-tuned voice as the Wizard nor Michele Yeoh as Madame Morrible. She can't sing either. And Cynthia Erivo kind of irritates me but at least she can sing and has an Oscar nomination under her belt. 

But if there is a ray of sunshine coming out of all of my complaints, it is Ariana Grande.  Like I said, Erivo is a Broadway baby so I expected her to be good.  But like I said in my review of Part I, Ariana was the real star.  She showed her vocal range in this, as well as some very good acting chops.  I enjoyed her most of all. And I give props to the cinematography, costumes and set design.  The film is lovely to look at, and I will say that the theme of friendship is an important one, but it all just went on too long, and in the end, for me there was no there there.

So this film, again written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, is nominated in the category called "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement," so here comes another complaint of mine.  The Academy Awards people have also added a similar category in recent years. This is a made up category to make sure movies that made a lot of money or were popular got recognized, basically throwing out the whole idea of artistry and dumbing down the awards. If a bunch of people went to see it, why we need to give it an award.  I think there were complaints in the past that the awards folks were getting too intellectual and honoring films nobody went to see so here we are. So in this category "Wicked: For Good" is up against "Zootopia 2," "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning," "Avatar: Fire and Ash," and a couple of other movies I didn't care about.

Other nominations for this film include Cynthia and Ariana for "Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy" and "Best Female Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy" respectively, along with a couple of songs (five total).  Note: no nomination for the director, the screenplay, even the costumes.

Will "Wicked: For Good" win for best "Cinematic and Box Office Achievement?"  

I don't really care, but wouldn't it make most sense for this kind of category to just give the Golden Globe to the movie that made the most money?

Will Cynthia or Ariana could win? 

I think Ariana has a chance and deserves to win, but I think Cynthia's competition is too steep.

And if you haven't already seen Part I and still want to see it after hearing all of my complaints, for continuity sake, I recommend a binge day. Watch all five hours at once.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a "Wicked" superfan, I know it won't do me any good to tell you to skip this, especially if you liked the first half, but don't say I didn't warn you. (Available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime)

   

Bugonia (2025)

Two environmental conspiracy theorists kidnap the CEO of a pharmaceutical corporation, convinced that she is an alien bent on destroying the earth.

Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons) worries about his bees.  And he worries about his mother who is in a comatose state due to a clinical trial she participated in. Teddy blames Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of the pharmaceutical megacorporation Auxolith, whose drug messed up Teddy's mother.  And Teddy also believes that Michelle is a member of an alien species known as the "Andromedans," who are killing honeybees and destroying humanity. So Teddy decides that he and his cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), must kidnap Michelle before the upcoming lunar eclipse so they can meet with the Emperor of the Andromedans.  And they are serious in their plan. They even go through a chemical castration in order to be able to concentrate on their plan and not be distracted by sexual urges. Oooo-kay.

Before Teddy and Don implement their plan, we see Michelle's life unfolding and she isn't a particularly nice woman.  She is quite smug, entitled and out of touch, just the kind of person you wouldn't mind seeing getting her comeuppance.

So Teddy and Don kidnap Michelle and imprison her in their basement, shave her head (because they believe her hair can somehow communicate with her fellow Andromedans), and cover her body in antihistamine cream to prevent her from sending out a distress signal to other Andromedans. Teddy explains that she has four days to negotiate a meeting with the Andromedan emperor before an upcoming lunar eclipse, which will allow the Andromedan mothership to enter Earth's atmosphere undetected.

Michelle claims her innocence and works on Teddy which kind of works because in truth, Teddy isn't that smart. Teddy tortures Michelle with electroshocks and her resistance convinces Teddy that Michelle is not only an alien but a high ranking one so he unties her and lets her come upstairs.  Big mistake. Have Teddy and Don bitten off more than they can chew?

This film, based on the Korean film "Save the Green Planet," adapted by Will Tracy and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Stone also starred in his film "Poor Things" and "Kinds of Kindness"), feels a bit like "Misery" in reverse. It also highlights the evils of the Internet and what it does to those who go down the conspiracy rabbit holes as well as the evils of Big Pharma. The film is mostly Teddy and Michelle -Teddy trying to get Michelle to admit she is an alien and Michelle trying to out think Teddy, which isn't that difficult.

Emma Stone is always good and is deservedly nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.  But for me, Jesse Plemons is the stand out. He has been around for awhile and was even nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2022 for "The Power of the Dog," but I would guess most people do not know his name.  He is a face.  But now, nominated for a Golden Globe for his leading man performance here, he is finally getting the respect he deserves. His performance was just amazing.

I really enjoyed this film and what I especially liked was the good old-fashioned storytelling, a linear narrative that we don't often find in films these days.  If I have one complaint, the twist ending was a bit over the top.

Oh, and the title?  Look up "bugonia."

The film has three Golden Globe nominations - Best Performance nominations for Emma and Jesse and the film has a Best Picture nomination and they are all nominated in the Musical or Comedy category! What??? Okay, but for me that's a stretch.  To enjoy this film, I think you have to suspend disbelief and take it seriously but okay, a comedy, but a very, very dark one.  

Anyway, will Emma or Jesse win?  Will this film win?

Prediction: Emma and Jesse as well as the film are in my top two to win in their categories.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a very satisfying film experience.  That's all I ever ask for. (streaming free on Peacock)

It Was Just An Accident (2025)

An accident leads to an accidental meeting...and revenge.

A man (Ebrahim Azizi) with a prosthetic leg is driving his car at night with his wife and daughter when he accidentally hits and kills a dog. When the man visits a nearby garage to get his car repaired. Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), an ethnic Azerbaijani auto mechanic, recognizes him from the sound his prosthetic leg makes when walking. The next day, Vahid follows the man, kidnaps him, and attempts to bury him in the desert. He tells him that he recognized his voice and walk as that of Eghbal (nicknamed "peg leg"), his former abuser in an Iranian prison. The man denies being Eghbal and begs Vahid not to kill him, telling him his leg was amputated recently.

When Vahid examines the man's leg and it looks like a recent wound, now Vahid isn't so sure so he puts the man into his van and goes to see Salar (George Hashemzadeh) another ex-prisoner.  Finding out that Vahid has the man tied up in his van, Salar doesn't want anything to do with it, but tells him to contact Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a photographer who Vahid finds taking wedding photos of Goli (Hadis Pakbaten) and Ali (Majid Panahi) who are getting married the next day. Goli reveals that she too had been tortured by Eghbal and, though both she and Shiva, think this man could be Eghbal, they aren't sure. So next they find Hamid (Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr), Shiva's partner, who insists it is Eghbal. So now we have Vahid, Shiva, Goli, Ali and Hamid, all together in a tight space, trying to figure out if this is the tormenter, Eghbal or not.  What to do? Believe it or not, there are some funny moments.

The film, written and directed by Jafar Panahi, is very one note - is this guy Peg Leg or isn't he? But there is insight into dictatorships and murderous regimes and the lasting traumas that political prisoners must live with, which is very timely in our world now and the film ends on an intriguing cliffhanger.  And just, think, if that guy had not hit that dog, none of this would have happened.

The film, a co-production between Iran, France, and Luxembourg, is a very personal film for Panahi, who himself was imprisoned in 2010 in Iran for opposing the government and was abused while in prison. It won the 2025 Palme d'or Award at the Cannes Film Festival and it is nominated for four Golden Globes: "Best Motion Picture-Drama," "Best Motion Picture-Non-English Language" as well as "Best Screenplay" and "Best Director" nominations for writer/director Panahi.

Will it win?

Not sure why a "non-English" film gets nominated in both the "non-English" category and the "Best Motion Picture-Drama" category.

Prediction: "Best Motion Picture-Drama?"  No.  Too much competition in that category.  "Best Motion Picture- Non-English Language?"  I am guessing no, as it didn't win the Critics' Choice Award for "Best Foreign Language Film."

Rosy the Reviewer says...billed as a thriller, not many thrills but the film is tense and the last half hour is worth the wait. (In Persian and Azerbaijani with English subtitles - available for rent on Amazon Prime). 

Sentimental Value (2025)

This movie is all about a house...and the family in it.

Sisters Nora and Agnes grow up in their Oslo family home raised by their psychotherapist mother, Sissel, after their father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgard), a film director, leaves the family. Later, Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) marries and works as a historian while Nora (Renate Reinsve) becomes an actress, an actress with crippling stage fright.

When Sissel dies, Gustav returns to Norway to reclaim the house. He hasn't seen his daughters for some time, and though Agnes is sympathetic towards him, Nora resents him for his drinking and long absences.

In the meantime, Gustav's career has been on the decline. He can't get financing for his projects.  He has a film he wants to make about his mother, Karin, who had been a member of the Norwegian resistance movement against the Nazis in WWII.  She had committed suicide in the family home and Gustav wants to make the film in that house and asks Nora to play Karin.  Nora isn't interested so Gustav hires Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), an American actress, whose presence in the film convinces Netflix to finance the project.

All kinds of trouble ensues during the making of the film - Rachel can't speak Norwegian, Nora loses interest in her work, Agnes argues with Gustav after he casts her son in his movie without her permission and Gustav gets drunk - but then the daughters come to understand the generational trauma that Gustav suffered because of his mother's suicide and the regret he has felt over his broken relationships - the healing power of art.

Written by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier and directed by Trier, this Norwegian film won the Grand Prix Prize this last year at the Cannes Film Festival and felt like the kind of psychological family dramas Bergman used to do with its beautiful cinematography and long, lingering shots of faces. It was also a slow, moving lingering film. Trier directed "The Worst Person in the World" in 2021 which also starred Reinsve.  I didn't get that film.  I liked this one better, despite feeling it went on too long. But the acting is first-rate, always a pleasure to see Skarsgard, though not sure how Elle Fanning ended up in the movie.  But it must have worked because she is nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance along with Skarsgard, Lilleaas and Reinsve. Speaking of Reinsve, her scene of Nora's stage fright is tense and breathtaking. The film is also nominated for a Golden Globe for  Best Motion Picture in both the Drama category and the "Non-English" category and Trier for Best Director and Screenplay.

Will the actors win?  Will the film win? Will Trier win?

Prediction: Though this film did not win Best Foreign Language Film at the recent Critics' Choice Awards, I think it has a chance to win a Golden Globe in the "Non-English" category.  I don't think the actors or Trier will win.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like family dramas and some insight into filmmaking, you might like this. (in Norwegian, Swedish and English with English subtitles - available for rent on Amazon Prime)

See You Next Time!

And Happy New Year!

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 October 2025 Movie Picks and Pans: Hot New Movies featuring Downton Abbey, Spinal Tap and Mathew McConaughey!

[I review "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale," "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues," and the new Mathew McConaughey movie "The Lost Bus"]

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)

A tidy wrap-up of the beloved TV series.

This British television series, "Downton Abbey," set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV in September 2010 and in the United States on PBS in January 2011. The show ran for fifty-two episodes across six series, including five Christmas specials. The series, set on the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926, depicted the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era, and how the great events of the time effected their lives and the British social hierarchy. The TV series ended ten years ago but there have been two movies since, the last one in 2019. 

The series was a huge success and had many fans. Now the characters are all back so we can say goodbye and not wonder what happened to them. 

NOTE:  This review is aimed at fans who have watched the series.  If you have never watched the show and are planning to start at the beginning or you are still watching, this not only could have some spoilers but probably wouldn't make much sense to you, so come back when you have gotten caught up.

When we last saw the Crawley family and their servants, Violet (Maggie Smith) had died (sadly, Smith had also died in real life); Barrow (Robert James-Collier) had resigned as butler and accepted a job with the actor and lover Thomas Dexter (Dominic West); Andy (Michael Fox) had moved up as head butler; Lady Mary's (Michele Dockery) marriage to Henry (Matthew Goode) was in trouble; Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) was running a magazine; and Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora, Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) were worried about the future of Downton Abbey, as finances were tight and running a big estate wasn't cheap. If you remember, Robert married Cora, an American heiress, which helped him keep his stately home - Downton Abbey.  It was a thing in England in those days. English aristocrats with no money married wealthy American women to keep up the facade. The men liked the money; the women liked the title and the English accent didn't hurt.  

Now as we catch up with the characters in this finale directed by Simon Curtis, it's 1930.

Barrow is still with Dexter who is appearing in a Noel Coward play in London. The Crawleys, minus Mary, have come to London to see the play. Later, at a party the news breaks that Lady Mary and husband Henry Talbot have divorced and a huge scandal ensues making Mary a pariah in their aristocratic society.  In those days in Britain, a divorced woman was not allowed into society. And let me say that it was not just a British thing. I remember growing up in the Midwest when my parents would tsk tsk about divorced women too. They grew up in that Downton Abbey era (they were old when I was born) and it was still alive and well in the 1950's and 1960's.  

Meanwhile, Robert and Cora are still concerned about the future of Downton and whether or not they should turn over management to Mary. This was a time when only males inherited but Robert and Cora have no male heirs, so what to do about Downton?

It doesn't help that Cora's American brother, Harold (Paul Giamatti), has arrived from America with his financial adviser, Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), and it turns out, after the death of their mother, Harold has lost all of Cora's money that he had been entrusted with.  Sambrook had supposedly saved Harold from complete financial ruin and now Harold wants to invest Downton's remaining assets to recoup his losses and repay Sambrook. Sambrook and Mary have a bit of a dalliance which results in his blackmailing her when she leads the family in rejecting his proposal to invest Downton's income. Meanwhile, Tom Branson (Allen Leech) arrives with daughter, Sybbie (Fifi Hart), and reveals that Sambrook is a bit of a fraudster.

Mary's divorce causes Downton neighbors to shun the Crawleys, and they all decline a dinner invitation but when the Crawley's decide to invite Noel Coward (Arty Froushan) to dinner as a way to rehabilitate Mary's reputation, the neighbors can't resist. And plucky Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton) is involved with organizing the annual county fair with the help of Daisy (Sophie McShera) and isn't taking any crap from traditionalist (and chauvinist), Sir Hector Moreland (Simon Russell Beale). 

Meanwhile, downstairs, Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) is expecting a second child; both Carson (Jim Carter) and Mrs. Padmore (Lesley Nicol)are retiring, though Carson just can't help himself from meddling upstairs despite his wife's, Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan), attempts to reason with him; and Molesley (Kevin Doyle) has become a playwright and is excited that Noel Coward is coming to a dinner party at Downton.

This film is less about a dramatic storyline and more about little moments with the characters, the ensemble actors, and wrapping up the series. Not a lot happens in this final installment, but it's wrapped up nicely, it's absolutely beautiful to look at, the actors deliver, and at the end, we get to enjoy some nostalgic moments from the past, my favorite part seeing Mathew Crawley (Dan Stevens) again, who we lost in early episodes, and who went on to make a name of sorts for himself in horror films.  But I always did love that Matthew Crawley. 

And there is a beautiful upward pan shot of Downton Abbey as Cora and Robert walk away.  That was especially nostalgic for me as I have been to Highclere Castle, where Downton was filmed.  I walked the grounds and touched everything in that main room where the family would congregate. It will always be a high point of my trips to England.

At the end, be sure to watch the credits because halfway through we see all of the characters happily moving on.

Rosy the Reviewer says...I can't say this was my favorite "Downton Abbey" get together, but it was a satisfying ending to a beloved show. (In theatres and for rent on Amazon Prime)

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025)

The Boys are Back in Town!

It's been 40 years since the first Spinal Tap film (feel old yet?) and Martin "Marty" DiBergi (Rob Reiner, who directed the first film as well as this one) wants to do another documentary, a reunion and final show of the legendary rock band, Spinal Tap. Marty discovers that Hope Faith (Kerry Godliman), the daughter of Spinal Tap's original manager, Ian Faith, has inherited a contract requiring Spinal Tap to do one more concert so that fits right in with Marty's documentary idea. 

So what have the original members - Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) - been doing these last 40 years?

Well, Nigel, the former lead guitarist, now runs a cheese-and-guitar shop with girlfriend Moira (Nina Conti).  David, the former guitarist and lead singer for Tap now produces music for true-crime podcasts (one was called "Night of the Assisted-Living Dead") as well as on-hold music - you know, that music you listen to on your phone when you are waiting for a customer service person? David's wife has become a nun (June Chadwick).  Derek, the bass player for the band, is the curator of a glue museum and has composed a symphonic work called "Hell Toupee." 

Nigel and David had been estranged and haven't played together in 15 years but they are open to performing together again, especially since there is increased interest in the band since Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed Tap's song "Big Bottom" and it went viral.  But the band needs a drummer because, as you may remember, all of the drummers for the band, mysteriously died.

Their old manager, Bobbi Flekman (Fran Drescher), was so stressed by her experience with the band that she became a Buddhist and their old PR man, Artie Fufkin (Paul Shaffer), has become a used-car salesman obsessed with sky dancers, those blow-up balloons waving at us from used car lots, so the band hires Simon Howler (Chris Addison), a sleazy promoter who for some reason cannot comprehend music, and they all travel to New Orleans to practice. They still need a drummer and ask Questlove if he would fill in but since all of Spinal Tap's drummers have had "accidental deaths," he is not interested. Gee, I wonder why.  But they are fortunate to find Didi Crockett (Valerie Franco), an enthusiastic young female drummer. Will she make it out alive?

The band lives in a "ghost house," a tourist attraction so people are wandering in and out on tour of the premises.  Kind of funny. Paul McCartney and Elton John drop by. Paul sings along with "Flower People" and Elton agrees to sing "Stonehenge" at the concert. Having them in the film was actually quite funny. And it wouldn't be Spinal Tap if things don't go very wrong at the concert, right?

The original Spinal Tap, written by Reiner, McKean, Guest and Shearer, was a ground-breaking parody film of rock stars on the way down that added the word "mockumentary" to our lexicon.  It was so good that we had friends who thought it was a real documentary, not a very good one, but real.  We tried to convince them that it was a parody and it was supposed to be bad, but they would not believe us and we actually had a bit of a row over it. IT WASN'T REAL! But the movie was VERY funny.

As for this film, also written by the four of them...well, you know how I feel about sequels.  

I always have to ask, was it necessary to do another film? And if so, does the sequel do the original justice?  The answer to those questions this time is probably no and no, but I was a huge fan of the first film and love these characters, so I was willing to hang in there. It doesn't have a lot of laughs, though you might chuckle a bit. Not really any new songs, either, though there are snippets of the original songs that you can enjoy again. But Paul McCartney and Elton John were clearly having fun, and if you loved the Spinal Tap guys and were a superfan, you might have fun spending some time with them again too.

As an aside, you bibliophiles out there might be interested to know that Rob Reiner has also published a "memoir" of the band to coincide with the release of the sequel and add to the back story: how the band met, how they came up with the fictitious band idea and those quotable lines like - “Hello Cleveland” and “These go to eleven.” You might not know that the Spinal Tap anthems (e.g. “Big Bottom,” “Stonehenge”) were written ahead of time, but other than that,  everything in the film was improvised (It most probably was in this sequel as well). It’s a behind the scenes tell-all of the making of the film and what happened after as well as info on the making of the sequel. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...sadly this film sequel does not go to 11. (In theatres and for rent on Amazon Prime) 

The Lost Bus (2025)

A real-life thriller about the worst wildfire in California history - the 2018 Camp Fire.

Matthew McConaughey is Kevin McKay, a school bus driver who has returned to his childhood home because his Dad has died.  His wife has also left him and he is struggling with mounting bills and more family turmoil - his son, Sean (McConaughey's real life son, Levi), says he hates him, Kevin's Mom (Kay McConaughey, Matthew's real life Mom) is losing her grasp on reality and Kevin's boss, Ruby (Ashlie Atkinson), is giving him grief. It gets worse.  His dog dies.  He is not a happy man. And he has no idea things are going to get much worse as he heads into the bus ride of his life. 

A fire has broken out near the town of Paradise and Kevin's boss, Ruby, the bus dispatcher, asks him to help evacuate 23 children from their school.  When he arrives to make the pickup, he insists that teacher, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrara), rides along to help him with the kids.  

Let the nightmare begin. The fire is already out of control and we are taken along on a scary ride through burning forests and falling live power cables. 

The film plays out like a documentary with Chief Martinez, the Cal Fire Battalion Chief (Yul Vasquez), trying to stop the fire and Kevin trying to get that bus through the raging fire that turns day into night and save the children. There is great footage of our heroic firefighters and the film does a good job of recreating just how harrowing that fire, the worst in California's history, was. 

McConaughey hasn't been in a major film in several years and it's easy to forget how good he is at making us care about everyman characters. It's great to see him exercising his dramatic acting chops. America Ferrera doesn't have as much to do as McConaughey but she is a consistent presence and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the bus makes for intense interactions between the two. And all of the disaster movie tropes are in play: an unlikely hero, children in jeopardy, no way out, bad guys.

Director Paul Greengrass, who is known for his true life depictions ("United 93" and "Captain Phillips") co-wrote the screenplay with Brad Ingelsby (based on the book "Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire" by Lizzie Johnson), and he has created a white-knuckle disaster movie with a "you are there" feeling.  The effects are spectacular. It's like we are on that bus too. 

The film ends with an epilogue about what happened to Kevin and Mary later...oh, and turns out the Pacific Gas & Electric Company was held accountable for starting the fire.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like disaster movies, this is a white knuckle experience that also shows the devastation that wildfires can cause and how regular people can overcome unimaginable odds and become heroes. (Apple+)

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)!

More December Movie Picks: "Carry-On," "The Apprentice," and "The Outrun"

[I review the thriller "Carry-On," as well as the Trump biopic "The Apprentice" and "The Outrun," a poetic story of the healing power of nature]

Carry-On (2024)

A mysterious man blackmails a TSA agent into letting a dubious carry-on bag onto a Christmas Eve flight.

Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) is a TSA officer at LAX and LAX is a good place for him to work because, let's just say he is lax.  He is not very ambitious, licking his wounds from failing at the police academy.  His pregnant girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), a supervisor at the airport, has encouraged him to reapply.  In an attempt to act like he cares, he asks his boss to let him do the baggage-scanning lane to have the opportunity to show him he has what it takes to deserve a promotion.  It's Christmas Eve and what Ethan doesn't know is that he is going to have an even bigger opportunity to show he has what it takes...but not in any way he expected. 

While at his post scanning carry-ons, a customer comes up to him with an earbud she said she had found. It has a note on it to listen to it at which point he is contacted by "The Traveler (Jason Bateman)," who orders him to let a specific carry-on case pass through the scanner --- or Nora will be killed.  Meanwhile, "The Travelers" accomplice, "The Watcher (Theo Rossi)," monitors Ethan through a surveillance system. Ethan tries to thwart them, but every time he tries to alert someone to what is happening, something bad happens.  And things go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, LAPD detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) has gotten wind of this and alerts the Department of Homeland Security and a sweep of the terminal is ordered.  There are many twists and turns and lots of running up and down the terminal as Ethan keeps trying to interfere with the bad guys' nefarious plot and getting foiled by the Traveler. And it becomes more and more difficult to figure out who are the bad guys and who are the good guys. And what the heck is in that carry-on?

At first I had a difficult time with Jason Bateman as a bad guy, but he pulled it off. Taryn is believable as a disaffected TSA agent who really wants to be a cop and the cinematography adds to the drama. Lots of close-ups. Yes, some of the stuff here is far-fetched. Written by T.J. Fixman and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the film falls into "Snakes on a Plane" territory at times and there are some frustrating moments where Ethan could have gotten himself out of this. He also does a bit too much running around the terminal but, all in all, the pace and action makes for a satisfying thriller.

I had to ask myself whether this would fall into the Christmas thriller debate. You know, that debate about whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie?  This one also has a Christmas theme, and I think that is a popular thriller theme, because taking something homespun like Christmas and adding terror to it is especially scary...and thrilling. Whether this will make Christmas movie debate status like "Die Hard" is debatable!

Rosy the Reviewer says...this was the #1 most watched movie on Netflix for several weeks and is still in the Top Ten, so if you like thrillers and can suspend your disbelief at times, there are some thrills to be had here. I am now suspicious of everyone's carry-on! (Netflix)

 

The Apprentice (2024)

The story of how Donald Trump started his real estate business in New York City and his friendship with Roy Cohn.

Sebastian Stan plays Donald Trump as a young man trying to please his unpleasable rich father and figure out what to do with his life. It's 1973 when he fortuitously meets Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong), a lawyer and prosecutor who made sure Julius and Ethel Rosenberg went to the electric chair. He was also Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954.  He later became a "fixer" in New York City and was not above shady antics to do his fixing. Trump's father, Fred Trump, was being investigated by the federal government for discrimination and Donald asked Cohn for his help. Cohn blackmailed the lead prosecutor and the case was settled.  Thus Cohn became Trump's mentor, teaching him how to dress, how to manipulate media relationships and his three rules for success: Attack, attack, attack; never admit wrongdoing; and always claim victory, even if defeated. Sound familiar?  Trump learned Cohn's lessons well.

When Trump wants to develop the Commodore Hotel near Grand Central Station, Cohn again uses blackmail to help Trump get a $150 million tax abatement for the project. Thus began Trump's career as a real estate mogul, though not all of his projects went well. The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City comes to mind. Hard to believe someone can run a casino into the ground.

Trump's personal life also wasn't going that well. Dazzled by Czech model Ivana Zelnickova (Maria Bakalova), he had to have her but that marriage eventually sours. Let's just say he got tired of her. His older brother, Fred Jr. (Charlie Carrick) spirals into alcoholism and when his father, Fred Sr. (Martin Donovan) was suffering from dementia, Donald tries to gain control of his siblings' inheritance to pay off his debts.

Meanwhile, Trump and Cohn continue their successful but dark partnership until that also sours. Basically, Trump gets tired of him too. When Cohn suffers from AIDS and needs him, Donald is not there.

Stan is amazing as Trump.  He has the walk and the lips down.  And Jeremy Strong is wonderful as Roy Cohn. He managed to make me feel sorry for a very bad guy...well, almost.  I see Academy Award nominations in their future.

Whether or not you are a Trump fan, this film, written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi, is a well-done, addictive film experience, that like a train wreck, you will not be able to take your eyes off it, in a good way.  The film really drives home a premise of why Trump is the way he is and how he got that way.  Even if only half of what is on display here is true, it's a scary portrait. 

If you are a Trump fan and know he hates this movie because he thinks it's a hatchet job or if you don't like Trump and are sick of seeing and hearing him, think of this as an adaptation of a Dickens novel and Trump's character is Uriah Heep or he is Mr. Burns on "The Simpsons." Something like that. Pretend it's not really him because this movie all by itself, fiction or reality, is very, very good.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a riveting examination of the early life of our soon-to-be second-time-around, President. (For rent on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

The Outrun (2024)

A young woman living in London and struggling with alcoholism, returns to the Orkney Islands, where she grew up, to heal.

Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is recently out of rehab and has returned home to Scotland's Orkney Islands. Her parents are still there but are separated so Rona spends time with them separately, sometimes with her bipolar father (Stephen Dillane) on his farm, sometimes with her very religious mother (Saskia Reeves). 

In flashbacks, we see how and why Rona ended up back in the Orkneys. She started out as a biology graduate student in London where she met her boyfriend, Daynin (Paapa Essiedu) and succumbed to some serious clubbing. When her drinking gets really bad and it leads to her losing Daynin and getting attacked she enters a rehab program and then returns home to Orkney to heal.

There she takes a job with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds which involves a systematic search for the now-rare corn crake, listening for its distinctive frog-like call. Only 30% of corn crakes survive the migration to return to their breeding grounds each year. When Rona has a near relapse, she moves to the remote Papa Westray island, home to a tiny community, where she lives by herself.  Like the corn crake, will she survive her migration away from drinking? 

This film is all about Saoirse. It makes or breaks because of her, and she makes it work with her incredibly poignant face and an ability to make you feel her pain. You will be pulled in, rooting for her to make it. I am rooting for her to get a Best Actress Oscar nomination for this.

Based on the memoir by Amy Liptrot, this is a slow-moving, poetic film that jumps around in time but in a good way. (Keep an eye on Rona's hair color as it changes during various aspects of her life). Having read the book, I wondered how it would work as a film because not a lot happens, but thanks to Ronan's tour de force performance, director Nora Fingscheidt at the helm, and a screenplay adaptation by Fingscheidt and Liptrot, it is a mesmerizing experience and possibly inspirational for those wanting to stay sober. Rona learns that life always gives you a reason to drink but living one day at a time can work. It never gets easy, but it gets less hard. And living quietly in nature, appreciating being alive, can be healing.

Oh, and in case you are wondering - what is an outrun? In Scottish English, it is a piece of grazing land on a farm or outskirts which is where Rona takes herself to heal.  But the word also means to out distance, beat or escape which also applies as Rona tries to out distance, beat and escape her drinking.  

Rosy the Reviewer says...part nature film, part science lesson but mostly a meditation on addiction and the power of nature to heal. Beautiful and inspiring. (For rent on Amazon Prime and 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)!