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Movie Review: COYOTE VS. ACME

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:32:09 +0000

Rating: PG
Stars: Will Forte, Lana Condor John Cena, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, Luis Guzmán, P.J. Byrne, John Early, Nancy Linehan Charles, Kenneth Choi, Eric Bauza (voice), Candi Milo (voice)
Writer: Samy Burch, story by James Gunn & Jeremy Slater and Samy Burch, based on the NEW YORKER article “Coyote vs. Acme” by Ian Frazier
Director: Dave Green
Distributor: Warner Bros./Ketchup Entertainment
Release Date: August 29, 2026

While there are previous examples – Gene Kelly dancing with Jerry the Mouse in 1945’s ANCHORS AWEIGH, whole sections of 1971’s BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS – the movie that is perhaps most associated with human performers interacting with cartoon characters is 1988’s WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT.

Apart from the awesome technical achievement of combining live-action credibly with cartoon animation (the technology has been improved upon vastly since then, but the movie still holds up), WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT has as a core piece of its plot the relationship between live-action people and animated folks, which creates class divisions and even a mystery.

Directed by Dave Green and scripted by Samy Burch from a story by James Gunn & Jeremy Slater and Burch, based on the NEW YORKER article by Ian Frazier, COYOTE VS. ACME feels something like the spiritual and conceptual child of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. In COYOTE VS. ACME, cartoon beings are now completely integrated into live-action human society, but there are still physical and legal distinctions between the groups, and the story engines are similar.

Anyone who has even passing familiarity with the classic Warner Bros. Looney Tunes “Roadrunner” cartoons knows that Wile E. Coyote has every right to sue the Acme Corporation.

For those who somehow have missed the original shorts, Wile E. Coyote is an animated desert canine who has devoted his existence to his (to date unsuccessful) attempts to capture, kill and eat the likewise cartoon Road Runner.

The Road Runner is perhaps the fastest-running bird on Earth. He makes his signature utterance “Beep, Beep” pretty much every time he’s about to dash off. This leaves Wile E. Coyote at the mercy of whatever defective Acme product he’s acquired this time that’s supposed to help him catch his prey, but instead just winds up decimating the aspiring predator.

After a pair of misfiring Acme rocket roller skates once again foil and maim poor Coyote, he sees a TV commercial advertising the law firm Avery, Jones and Maltese (the names meta-honor Looney Tunes animator/director Tex Avery, animator Chuck Jones and screenwriter/storyboard artist Michael Maltese). The firm’s spokesman Kevin Avery (Will Forte) asserts that he and his team are specialists in getting settlements for cartoon characters injured by faulty devices. Coyote decides to check them out.

Coyote isn’t the most cooperative of clients. When Kevin wants to settle with Acme the way his firm always does – for a few hundred dollars – Coyote brings in *all* the defective Acme products he’s purchased over the decades.

Kevin’s eager-beaver niece and well-trained attorney Paige (Lana Condor) looks at the almost-literal mountain of evidence and sees a winnable big case. Kevin desperately doesn’t want to go to court – especially opposite Acme’s chief defense attorney and Kevin’s old schoolmate Buddy Crane (John Cena) – but up with little choice. Kevin also discovers that he and Coyote may be ensnared in a sinister Acme conspiracy.

Director Green and his team of animators appear to have pored over every frame of every Looney Tunes short. Not only are their references superb, but so are the look and impeccable timing. Every joke sticks the landing; every sight gag is at home here without ever seeming anachronistic to the original.

There is plenty of employment of Coyote’s contemporaries, including a certain wascally wabbit, who is voiced in COYOTE by Eric Bauza in a seamless duplication of Mel Blanc’s original Bugs.

The filmmakers also devise ingenious, easy to comprehend methods of communication without compromising the never-speaking Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

Forte as the super-reluctant hero, Cena as the effortlessly confident foe and Condor as the indefatigable advocate all give excellent performances, especially when it comes to interacting with their to-be-added-in-post-production animated costars. Condor is particularly good at consoling the beleaguered Coyote.

While this is not its chief feature, COYOTE VS. ACME achieves the surprising feat of injecting some real emotion into the proceedings without violating character essentials.

Potential viewers may want to strap on their non-Acme-made rocket roller skates to get the into theatres playing COYOTE VS. ACME more quickly. It’s that funny and that entertaining.

Those who want to know more about the end credits thank you note reading, “Dedicated to everyone who posted, shared, held up signs and spoke out when it counted. This film made it to the big screen because of you” are advised to look up COYOTE VS. ACME Warner Bros. for some enlightenment.

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Movie Review: BUDDY

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:00:49 +0000

Rating: R
Stars: Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Keegan-Michael Key (voice), Sergey Zhuravsky (suit), Topher Grace, Tristan Borders, Madison Skyy Polan, Caleb “CJ” Williams, Luke Speakman, Patton Oswalt (voice), Clint Howard, Michael Shannon (voice), Jimmica Collins (voice), Cedwan Hooks (suit), Seamus Flynn, Bryson Jonsteele
Writers: Casper Kelly & Jamie King
Director: Casper Kelly
Distributor: Roadside Attractions/Saban Films
Release Date: August 28, 2026

In the best possible way, BUDDY looks like it was made by people who had serious nightmares after watching BARNEY & FRIENDS. For those who missed it, that’s the show (that ran for fourteen seasons) for young children with a plush purple dinosaur (a suit performer) and his pals, some other dino suit performers and some actual kids.

Valuable lessons are taught and Barney keeps singing, “I love you, you love me …” If you’re not the target age, and maybe even if you are, that’s legitimately creepy.

BUDDY drops us into the TV episode world of its title character, a toy stuffed unicorn who comes to full-sized life (Keegan-Michael Key is the voice, Sergey Zhuravsky is the suit performer) whenever anyone says his name.

Buddy lives in a playland that looks pretty much like the playland for live-action children’s programming everywhere. He has four young (under-10) human friends, plus Betty Bunny (voiced by Jimmica Collins, Cedwan Hooks in the suit), and some anthropomorphic talking furniture like the couch and the mailbox, plus other items, like the talking backpack, Strappy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), of little girl Freddy (Delaney Quinn).

The children adore Buddy, and he seems to love them right back. However, when Buddy thinks that little Josh (Luke Speakman) doesn’t want to come to the dance party because he’s afraid he can’t dance and that this is the opportunity for one of those valuable lessons, Josh defies him. Josh isn’t afraid of embarrassment, he just really wants to sit by himself and read (the book: A WRINKLE IN REALITY, in case we needed the prompt).

Buddy isn’t used to kids not being improved by his teachings, and he doesn’t take Josh’s reaction well. Suddenly, we’re in the next episode. The other children are aware that Josh is missing and that Hannah (Madison Skyy Polan) is new, even though she feels like she’s always been here. Then Freddy does some sleuthing, and soon discovers she’s got a problem she’d better not ask Buddy about …

We spend the first half-hour of BUDDY within the world of its episodes, which get more and more ominous, even with all the bright colors and lighting. We also get scrolling end credits for each episode that become progressively menacing without changing format.

Then we’re plonked into the real world, where we meet the happy suburban family of mom Grace (Cristin Milioti), dad Ben (Topher Grace), teen son Timothy (Seamus Flynn) and youngster Derek (Bryson Jonsteele). At least, they’re a happy family until Grace abruptly freaks out and falls into a depressive funk.

BUDDY doesn’t go exactly where we might think it’s going from here. We never go behind the scenes – Buddy and his universe exist on their own terms – though there is a moment where it stops inventing new twists and simply tears ahead. We can’t blame it for this, though it has been so darkly and delightfully weird and unpredictable for so long that we feel a tinge of loss when the surprises cease.

Director Casper Kelly & his cowriter Jamie King have brilliantly absorbed the molecular structure of the type of children’s programming they’re adapting. When they open up BUDDY’s world, every aspect of it looks exactly the way it should, including the gory parts.

The songs, with music by Shawn Coleman and lyrics by Kelly and King, precisely capture the sound and texture of what we’d find on BARNEY.

Buddy himself is likewise pitch-perfect, with Key hitting the bullseye with the unicorn’s goofy, cheery voice. Quinn is an excellent avatar of burgeoning anxiety, and Milioti ably addresses the pivots of her role.

Production designer Anna Kathleen, costume designer Shawna-Nova Foley and puppet designer Devon Hawkes Ludlow all make stellar contributions to BUDDY’s look and feel, evoking a whole genre.

We can commend BUDDY’s makers for not over-explaining what’s happening. At the same time, the film falters a bit in its last act. Even though it concludes, it’s been so wide-ranging that it comes to a stop more than builds to a finale.

Still, BUDDY is a definite kick for those ready to confront their childhood (or later) TV trauma.

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Movie Review: COLONY (GUNCHE)

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:31 +0000

Rating: R
Stars: Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock, Go Soo, Kim Jong-tae
Writers: Yeon Sang-ho & Choi Gyu-seok
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
Release Date: August 28, 2026

The Korean horror film COLONY (GUNCHE) is technically not a zombie movie, in the way that the 28 DAYS/YEARS movies aren’t – the virus doesn’t actually kill the victims.

However, in most movies of this type, how it all started is either unknown or irrelevant. In COLONY, it’s the plot engine.

Directed by Yeon Sang-ho (of TRAIN TO BUSAN fame) and written by Yeon & Choi Gyu-seok, COLONY is set primarily inside the massive Doongwoori Building in downtown Seoul, Korea. The lower floors house an indoor shopping mall, with all sorts of spaces on the upper levels.

Suh Young-chul (Koo Kyo-hwan) calls 911 to report that he’s about to commit an act of bioterrorism here.

It takes us (or at least this reviewer) a while to figure out why Suh announces his intentions to the authorities rather than just proceeding, but there’s method to his madness.

Suh then injects himself with an unknown substance and says he is the only living antidote.

We then get the onscreen statement: “COLONY: Organisms of the same species that, for a certain time, live in the same place.”

There’s an auditorium (among other things) on the mall’s third floor, where Chains Biotech is holding a conference. Personably CEO Kang Woo-cheol (Kim Jong-tae) gives a lecture about organic semiconductors and the collective intelligence found in ants and in biological slime (who knew?), where various physically unconnected bits can communicate and grow together in the direction of food.

The makers of COLONY are genuinely interested in this, with scientist characters not only piecing together what’s happening, but how they may interfere with the evolutionary process in order to save themselves and others.

Among the attendees at the lecture are prickly scientist Professor Kwon Se-jeong (Gianna Jun) and her caring, mellow ex-husband Professor Han Kyu-seong (Go Soo). They become trapped inside the Doongwoori Building with fellow conference-goers and an assortment of vendors and customers from the mall when the place is locked down until the infection can be identified and contained.

Outside, the police and military coordinate with a scientific team led by Professor Gong Seol-hee (Shin Hyun-been). They are tasked not only with exploring the biohazard mystery but also with a variety of tactical and ethical decisions.

Director Yeon clearly has a blast creating a plethora of zombie tableaus as the hive mind pauses repeatedly, leaving its subjects motionless in similar positions to one another for moments. The coordinated movements threaten to tip over into full-on THRILLER choreography in places, but the horror iconography is captivating.

Kwon is introduced as such a surly, self-absorbed individual that it takes us a moment to accept her transition to group leader, but Jun adeptly handles the different aspects of her role. Koo excels at Suh’s deadpan smugness, to the extent that we actively root for his painful demise.

COLONY has plenty of bravura action sequences to go with those images of the infected freezing in place, then jerk back into motion. With its toggling back and forth between groups, COLONY doesn’t have the raw momentum of TRAIN TO BUSAN, but it’s thought-provoking. Certainly, it makes us look at expanding slime in a whole new way.

In Korean, with English subtitles.

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Movie Review: TURNING POINT

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:00:19 +0000

Rating: R
Stars: Jillian Lee Garner, Mike Apple, Shane Brady, Lydia Hearst, Sanchita Malik, DJ Qualls, Sasha Higgins, Pamela Guest, Mike Duff, Nora Yates
Writer: Joshua D. Wagner
Director: Joshua D. Wagner
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: August 25, 2026 (digital, VOD)

Nobody should be robbing anybody’s house. That said, the absolute worst time to attempt burglary is when the homeowner is not only there, but in the midst of turning into a zombie.

This is the premise of TURNING POINT, a generally decent if uneven horror movie, written and directed by Joshua D. Wagner.It begins with black-and-white images of cells dividing and recombining under a microscope. Then we’re in color footage in a suburban home, where little Margot (Nora Yates) is terrified by the man (Mike Duff) in the living room. He’s in a wheelchair, hooked up to an I.V. drip and a breathing mask – and he’s her dad.

When Dad begins crying bloody tears, we assume he’s somewhere in the middle of transitioning into one of the living dead. No, he’s just really sick.

We’ll stipulate that there are some real-world diseases that can cause blood to leak from human eyes, but in this context, it’s very confusing. When now-adult Margot (Jillian Lee Garner) wakes up from the nightmare we just saw, we spend a good while thinking, “Ah, she’s got experience dealing with zombies,” but no, she’s just generally easily frightened.

Margot’s newish boyfriend Pilot (Shane Brady) seems agreeable enough and makes an okay impression on Margot’s alcoholic mom Julie (Sasha Higgins).

Pilot turns out to have an amiable customer/supplier relationship with local drug dealer Eli (Mike Apple), who lives in middle-class suburban respectability. Eli is sad that his wife McKayla (Lydia Hearst) has taken their little daughter and left after discovering that the family is not, as Eli claimed, supported by canny investments.

A bit conveniently (but okay, we’ll allow it), Eli’s next-door neighbor Casper (DJ Qualls) has his own podcast about zombies. Eli never misses an opportunity to mock Casper about his hobby.

Then Eli goes out to sell to a skittish client at night in a local park that houses a disreputable CDC facility, the site of a number of zombie sightings that have made their way to Casper.

Meanwhile, Pilot and Margot are out on a date, having fun while they’re both high on Eli’s product. Knowing that Eli is out on the job and that his family is elsewhere, Pilot thinks this would be the ideal time to break into Eli’s house and steal from his safe. Since Margot is under the influence and Pilot, again, appears to be reasonable, she agrees.

We can in some measure guess where all of this is going. Part of what’s good about TURNING POINT is that a number of characters go through changes that are in personality rather than in biology. Apple is especially good at handling Eli. Qualls – who also nailed it as a zombie-apocalypse podcaster on the five seasons of the Syfy Channel series Z NATION – displays his expertise in playing someone who has grown comfortable with his outsider status, capable of going both full geek and credible philosopher.

TURNING POINT trips itself up to an extent in a few places. Given how events unfold, there is one character we should know more about before things go bonkers, and an epilogue introduces another character who is implausibly incurious, even in the name of the filmmakers wanting to move along to the ending.

The biggest flaw, however, is in an effects makeup design. The zombie infection phase makeup is excellent, and if the filmmakers had simply stuck with it into reanimation, that would have been entirely acceptable. Instead, the design for the actual undead is too different and too over the top to be effective.

TURNING POINT has its charms and its flaws. Which turn out to be more important will be in the eye of the beholder.

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Movie Review: INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:47:56 +0000

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Lin Shaye, Island Austin, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Sam Spruell, Laura Gordon, Charli Penton
Writer: Jacob Chase, story by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Jacob Chase, based on characters created by Leigh Whannell
Director: Jacob Chase
Distributor: Sony/Screen Gems
Release Date: August 21, 2026

The first INSIDIOUS film, released in 2010, directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, was legitimately scary. (This reviewer has vivid memories of her screening companion scrunching twenty pages of press notes into a single sweaty wad.)

INSIDIOUS introduced us to Travelers, people who – often unknowingly – could astral-project themselves into the realm of the Further, a kind of limbo where souls of the unconscious and souls of the dead mingled with actual demons. Both the dead and the demons attempt to possess Travelers in the hopes of reaching the living world.

2013’s INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 is a direct, retcon-filled sequel to the original. 2015’s INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 is a prequel, set before the first two films. 2018’s INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY takes place after CHAPTER 3, but before 1 and 2. 2023’s INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR returns to the main characters from 1 and 2.

Got all that? It’s okay if you don’t, because while the sixth film in the franchise, the new INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER, returns to the mythology of the first (getting rid of the retcon) and retains one continuing character, it explains everything we need to know as we need to know it.

A prologue set in 1999 Pittsburgh gives us serious little girl Gemma (Charli Penton), whose mother Ingrid (Laura Gordon) appears to be suffering from substance abuse. Then Ingrid commits suicide in a particularly horrible manner, leaving Gemma traumatized.

Twenty years later, Gemma (now played by Amelia Eve) is a dental hygienist with a little girl of her own, bright nine-year-old Maya (Island Austin). They still live in the nice, large house where Gemma went through her crisis. When Gemma’s boyfriend, police officer Nick (Brandon Perea), asks why she doesn’t sell, she insists she’s gotten over any bad memories and it makes financial sense to stay.

But then Gemma starts having nightmares that cause her to wake up screaming. This alarms and dismays Maya.

Gemma also notices a trio of silent, unnerving-looking people who keep walking the block where she and Maya live. Everyone can see them, so we know these folks are real and alive, but they become more menacing as the days go by. And then …

Director/screenwriter Jacob Chase, working from a story he and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick crafted, based on the characters created by Leigh Whannell, demonstrates that he knows how to pace and stage a sequence for maximum audience apprehension. Even when we have a pretty accurate notion of what is likely coming, darkness and confined spaces (not to mention a dentist’s chair) are potent sources of fear.

Eve, so compelling in THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR, ably conveys the qualities necessary for Gemma: maternal tenderness and ferocity, buffeted by confusion and terror. Austin, as Maya, and Penton, as the younger Gemma, are both persuasive, and Perea and Maisie Richardson-Sellers supply staunch support. Sam Spruell is properly intimidating as an uncommonly malicious ghost.

Since Lin Shaye is prominent in the credits, and she’s appeared as Elise Rainer in all the previous INSIDIOUS films, it’s not a spoiler to say she shows up here as well. As always, Shaye is excellent as a source of warmth and compassionate exposition, as well as contributing a bit of derring-do.

Those who have seen multiple INSIDIOUS films will feel things start to jell into a familiar if gorier than usual pattern in the third act. There’s nothing wrong with this, per se, as it doesn’t let us down; it just would have been nice to have one more really frightening segment.

There’s also some question about how the filmmakers have selected certain dates. While the original INSIDIOUS was released in 2010, INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER sets that in 2011. Placing the main action of INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER “twenty years later” than its 1999 opening puts it in 2019 rather than the present, with a reference to the previous INSIDIOUS: THE RED DOOR, released in 2023, as happening a few weeks before the bulk of the new film. Again, it’s not a big deal, but it’s puzzling.

Meanwhile, while INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER won’t blow anyone’s mind conceptually, but at its best, it is marvelously creepy.

Side note (for those especially phobic on the subject): INSIDIOUS: OUT OF THE FURTHER will probably discourage many impressionable souls from a career in dentistry. The good news is, if they can handle this movie and still go into the dental field, they’ll be unstoppable.

Those who want a little extra should stick around for a mid-credits scene.

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Movie Review: BURY THE DEVIL

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 11:25:03 +0000

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Dawn Ford, Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez, Bill Rowat, Mark Krupa, Jason Cavalier, Steve “Liquid” Hawley
Writers: John Petrizzi & Brad Hodson, story by Adam O’Brien
Director: Adam O’Brien
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Release Date: August 21, 2026

BURY THE DEVIL begins with a quote from THE BOOK OF ATTRITION (invented by the filmmakers), which cites the demon Elim as a being who wears down his adversaries until he can absorb them. Fair enough.

We then get a long shot of what looks like an isolated facility, engulfed by flames, and hear a woman screaming.

We then get a bracing notice that we’re going to flash back to “75 minutes ago.” On the one hand, that promises fast pacing. On the other hand, that seems a bit short for attrition to set in. Maybe BURY THE DEVIL should have used a different ominous statement to introduce Elim.

We are momentarily confused when we find ourselves looking into the windows of a large residence that nevertheless doesn’t seem to be as enormous as it appeared from the outside. A thunderstorm is raging.

We see an old woman, Evelyn (Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez), brushing her hair in the mirror. The camera seamlessly goes through the window. Then we meet Julia (Dawn Ford), a young woman who is new on the job as Evelyn’s caregiver. Julia is patient with her charge when Evelyn repeats things or addresses Julia as Sarah, Evelyn’s daughter who passed away.

Evelyn invites Julia to say bedtime prayers with her and has quite an unusual version of “Now I lay me down to sleep.” This cues the audience into what’s likely going on, though we can’t blame Julia for thinking it’s just the eccentricity of a woman whose mind is wandering.

However, we can and do fault Julia for how she deals with Evelyn’s former husband, Randall (Bill Rowat). Randall shows up at the house unannounced in response to a letter that Evelyn sent to him.

The action ramps up more slowly than we might expect given the running time (minus credits, BURY THE DEVIL is 78 minutes in length).

By then, director Adam O’Brien and screenwriters John Petrizzi & Brad Hodson, working from O’Brien’s story, have provided fewer scares than unanswered mysteries. By the finale, we can surmise who hired Julia and why, but why now?

Additionally, given what the various goals are, why did Evelyn send the letter to Randall? Why did it take the letter to get him to come over? Why doesn’t Randall give Julia an easy-to-understand explanation (“you know Evelyn has dementia; I’m concerned she may be dangerous”) so that she can accept his presence? Why does the demon decide to provide Julia with audio exposition? When we arrive at the conclusion, we have even more queries.

The upshot is that we’re so preoccupied with trying to understand the storytelling that other elements don’t carry the impact that they should. There’s meant to be symmetry between Evelyn’s guilt about her daughter and Julia’s guilt about her mother, but we hear it rather than feel it.

BURY THE DEAD doesn’t have visible edits, so that the whole film appears as one long uninterrupted take. Those familiar with techniques as to how this can be accomplished will recognize crossover points, but these are handled smoothly and everything looks good. It’s just that this stylistic choice doesn’t add much in terms of speed or effect.

BURY THE DEAD has been made well on a budget, but narratively, it comes up short.

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Movie Review: THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:24:56 +0000

Rating: PG
Stars: Andrew Garfield, Clare Foy, Nonso Anozie, Nicola Coughlan, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Billie Gadsdon, Phoenix Laroche, Dustin Demri-Burns, Jessica Gunning, Hiran Abeysekera, Mark Heap, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Oliver Chris, Lenny Henry, Michael Palin, Simon Russell Beale, Jennifer Saunders, Rebecca Ferguson, Judi Dench (voice)
Writer: Simon Farnaby, based on the novels by Enid Blyton
Director: Ben Gregor
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Release Date: August 21, 2026

Enid Blyton was a highly successful writer of children’s literature in the first half of the twentieth century. THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE, directed by Ben Gregor and scripted by Simon Farnaby, is based on a series of Blyton’s fantasy novels.

Although the new film of THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is set in the present, with cellphones, PlayStations and smart fridges (voiced by Judi Dench, no less), Gregor and Farnaby have captured the timeless feel of the original era’s fiction for youngsters.

Polly (Clare Foy) and Timothy Thompson (Andrew Garfield) are the loving parents of three children, tween Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), preteen Joe (Phoenix Laroche) and eight-year-old Fran (Billie Gadston), none of whom can be pried away from their devices at the dinner table.

Polly is an inventor, while Tim is a stay-at-home dad. But when Polly quits her job over a matter of principle, her erstwhile employers take away the family house and car. Timothy persuades Polly to follow one of their youthful dreams and move the family back to the rural countryside where he grew up. He’ll grow tomatoes, sell his special pasta sauce, and they’ll be able to buy the super-inexpensive home he’s found for them.

The home turns out to be a barn. Beth and Joe are completely horrified, although little Fran sees possibilities in her father’s tales of the nearby “enchanted” forest.

When Fran reflexively does a kindness for the fairy Silky (Nicola Coughlan), Silky invites the child to the Magic Faraway Tree. This is the home of fairies and the temporary resting place for other lands, like the Land of Goodies, the Land of Birthdays and so on.

Fran is delighted with her new friends and adventures. Her parents are thrilled that at least one of their offspring is having a good time. Thinking Fran has simply been exploring the woods (sans fairies), Timothy and Polly insist that she bring her siblings with her for safety’s sake. When Beth and Joe are finally bored enough to agree to accompany Fran into the forest – anything to get out of the barn, which is steadily being refurbished – they too encounter the Magic Faraway Tree.

The fairies and their environments are charming, if a bit retro; there’s a sequence with elves that has what sounds like ‘70s disco. Some sets and special effects are more successful than others. There’s a supernatural trader’s shop that’s intriguingly crammed. For that matter, once the barn has been made habitable, it looks downright beckoning.

The cast is all very game, with Garfield and Foy radiating goodness, Gadsdon a standout as the thoughtful Fran, and Bennett-Cardy the epitome of understated British tween snark.

The filmmakers may be a little too faithful in tone to the original material for a lot of today’s kids, who are used to high jeopardy and high stakes in their fantasy. Indeed, the movie feels rather like the indie children’s fare of the ‘60s and ‘70s. THE MAGICAL FARAWAY TREE has fairies and elves, but no kingdoms are at risk.

The scariest characters are an unhinged schoolteacher (Rebecca Ferguson) and a disapproving grandmother (Jennifer Saunders). Then again, since these are figures children can recognize from real life, maybe they register as dangerous after all. A fairy is in peril at one point, but the biggest threats seem to be disappointment, failure, and misunderstandings. We can tell from the overall atmosphere that THE MAGICAL FARAWAY TREE believes in happy endings.

In her day, Blyton was criticized for being racist, sexist and classist. THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE scrupulously avoids being any of those things. Garfield may annoy Italians when his otherwise English Timothy uses an accent to discuss his tomatoes, but otherwise, the movie is inclusive.

THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is in no way cool, but for preteens who enjoy reading fairytales and OZ books, it may be playful, escapist fun.

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Movie Review: IT ENDS

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:24:50 +0000

Rating: R
Stars: Mitchell Cole, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Phinehas Yoon
Writer: Alex Ullom
Director: Alex Ullom
Distributor: Neon
Release Date: August 21, 2026

IT ENDS is a remarkably on-target metaphor. Alas, to say what the metaphor is about constitutes a gigantic spoiler. It’s also not for everyone, but viewers who connect with its rhythms will find it meaningful.

Beginning like any number of horror and/or teen comedy films, IT ENDS opens with four friends, just graduated from college, on a late-night jaunt to get a snack. We’re in a Jeep Cherokee with Tyler (Mitchell Cole), Day (Akira Jackson), Fisher (Noah Toth), and James (Phinehas Yoon).

All of them are, to greater or lesser extent, worried about what going their separate ways will mean. Good news on that front: they’ll be together for quite a while.

The GPS directs them onto a road through a forest. There should be a turnoff, but there isn’t; there should be signs, but there aren’t. Also, the vehicle should be running low on gas, but it’s not; they should all be hungry or tired or need to relieve themselves, but they aren’t and they don’t.

Perhaps worst of all (at least at first) is what happens when they pull over and attempt to explore the woods.

IT ENDS blessedly skips over the almost obligatory section where somebody ignores what’s going on, insists on a normal explanation and requires more proof. All four characters reasonably deduce that they’re having some sort of supernatural experience, although they don’t agree on what it is or what it signifies.

What seems evident is that they can’t safely stop for long; on the other hand, if they don’t turn off the motor, they apparently can keep going forever.

IT ENDS doesn’t do what its characters or its audience expect. Instead of taking the customary route of jokes leading into terror, writer/director Alex Ullom puts some huge scares up front and then goes into a mixture of dark humor and existentialism. The characters don’t discuss it as such, but they don’t have the perspective that Ullom gives us.

Another intriguing aspect of IT ENDS is how the characters change under pressure. They don’t fragment into clichés but rather take swerves that go from unlikely to inevitable.

Cole as the resident tough guy, Jackson as the cheery/melancholy soul, Toth as the go-along/get-along fellow and Yoon as the seemingly most tightly wound all give expertly naturalistic performances.

There is an enormous amount to say about IT ENDS – it just can’t be said to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. It’s for people who want something to think and talk about, and probably most of all for those who comprehend and agree with its conclusions.

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Movie Review: SIX: THE MUSICAL LIVE!

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:24:43 +0000

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Jarnéia Richard-Noel, Millie O’Connell, Natalie Paris, Alexia McIntosh, Aimie Atkinson, Maiya Quansah-Breed
Writers: Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
Directors: Liz Clare (for film), Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage (for stage)
Distributor: Focus Features/Universal Pictures
Release Date: August 14, 2026

SIX: THE MUSICAL was first produced in 2017 for the Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival, and shortly thereafter transferred to London’s West End. It has toured the U.K. and the U.S. and has been playing on Broadway since it opened there in 2021.

Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss wrote the book, music and lyrics for this short (under 90 minutes) piece in which the six wives of Henry VIII take to the stage and to song to speak for themselves in what they refer to variously as a “histo-remix” and “herstory.”

In 2022, the original West End cast – Jarnéia Richard-Noel as Catherine of Aragon, Millie O’Connell as Anne Boleyn, Natalie Paris as Jane Seymour, Alexia McIntosh as Anna of Cleves, Aimie Atkinson as Katherine Howard, and Maiya Quansah-Breed as Catherine Parr – reunited for a performance at London’s Vaudeville Theatre, specifically to be performed for recording.

SIX: THE MUSICAL LIVE! is wonderful on almost every single level. The stage show itself is dynamic and delightful enough to snap most people out of drowsiness or a bad mood. The set-up of the queens ostensibly competing to see who’s got the most tragic story leads to some snappy dialogue, but even when they’re sniping at each other, there’s never a sense of malice.

The virtuoso voices soar in pop power ballads, with each performer getting the spotlight in turn, with harmonic and eye-catchingly choreographed (the choreographer is Carrie-Anne Ingrouille) support from the rest. Points are made, facts most audience members may not know are revealed, and a sense of utter joy is generated.

The four-piece backup band is onstage throughout, never distracting, just adding to the sense of community. The color-coordinated, iridescent costumes by Gabriella Slade are stunning and subtly help define character.

SIX: THE MUSICAL was directed for the stage by co-writer Moss & Jamie Armitage. Liz Clare directed SIX: THE MUSICAL LIVE! with a nearly infallible sense of where to put the camera in terms of when to use a close-up and when to show the full ensemble, when to include the live audience and when to frame them out.

SIX: SIX THE MUSICAL LIVE! comes with an eleven-minute preface of the cast talking about show the show means to them, how they feel about the reunion, and even about the SIX fandom (known as the “Queendom”). It’s agreeable, but it likely would have more impact if it came after rather than before the movie, since it won’t mean much to newcomers.

Otherwise, this is an outstanding permanent of a splendid performance and production.

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Movie Review: THE END OF OAK STREET

ABBIE BERNSTEIN — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:27:26 +0000

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, Jordan Alexa Davis, P.J. Byrne, Anne Gee Byrd, Emily Kuroda
Writer: David Robert Mitchell
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: August 14, 2026

THE END OF OAK STREET is a giant-dinosaurs-in-suburbia movie that isn’t what we might expect from its premise. Granted, the template for this sort of thing has been pretty much set by the JURASSIC PARK franchise, so deviations should be actively encouraged. It’s just that this one feels a little odd.

Apart from a Spielbergian opener that sets up the characters, and another mood shift near the climax, instead of wonder and suspense, THE END OF OAK STREET goes largely for straight-on monster horror. The dinosaurs are immediately so destructive and deadly that nobody has time to go, “Kinda cool” before jumping into survival mode.

Directed and written by David Robert Mitchell, maker of the memorable 2014 IT FOLLOWS, THE END OF OAK STREET is set in 1982, presumably because this was before the advent of technology that would bring the government running the moment a big anomaly occurs.

We focus on the Pratt family – aspiring writer mom Denise (Anne Hathaway), working-man dad Greg (Ewan McGregor), teen daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella), and dog-loving preteen son Brian (Christian Convery) – as they prepare for the annual block party on their cul-de-sac.

There are marital tremors to go with the ground tremors and gigantic tropical plants cropping up here and there. Something peculiar is found in the yard of grouchy neighbor Mel (P.J. Byrne). Brian sees a blinding light in the sky.

And then, a night or so later, the power goes out in the whole neighborhood. There are prehistoric grasses, flowers, and trees – and enormous carnivorous beasts from 150 million years ago or so.

Is there a way out? Should any of the Pratts seek it, or simply concentrate on making it through the next crisis?

There are plenty of cool predicaments and set pieces, but we also spend what seems like an inordinate amount of time on the relationship problems between Denise and Greg. These scenes might be more interesting if the characters and the nature of their disputes weren’t so very familiar.

Likewise, young Brian spends a lot of the movie searching for his beloved dog Starbuck – except when he and everybody else seem to forget about the canine for stretches. This seems a little schizophrenic and counterintuitive. Once an audience is concerned about the well-being of a dog, they worry that the filmmakers are going to do something awful or ignore the topic altogether, leaving viewers less invested in the human figures.

THE END OF OAK STREET is shot in IMAX so, if possible, see it in that format, as the seats shake along with the buildings and the ground, and the creatures have depth and scope.

The dinosaurs range from looking great and scary to sometimes not quite fitting properly in the shots. THE END OF OAK STREET goes with the theory that dinosaurs had feathers, which are depicted here as more marabou-like and ropy than those of most birds. The impact again varies depending on the species sporting the feathers.

For a while, THE END OF OAK STREET plays as going for the terror of a zombie movie, with colossal beasts instead of the undead. The finale snaps it over to being more of what we anticipated at the outset.

THE END OF OAK STREET is reasonably enjoyable and offers a distinct alternative for those who want to see thunder lizards in something other than the JURASSIC model. However, a little more attention to characters and some mood stabilization would not have gone amiss.

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