Movie Theater at South Point
Cinemark Century 16 in Las Vegas

Movie Guru's Current Movie Briefs

• Taylor Swift/The Official Release Party of a Showgirl
  

  Taylor Swift.  Businesswoman par excellence.  Last year’s Eras Tour concert film not only swamped all competing movies, but it also revealed to newcomers that she is an artist giving Bruce Springsteen-like live performances.  I am ready to jump on the Taylor Swift bandwagon October 13-15.    
• The Smashing Machine
  

  The Rock.  His films are all over the place (remember his role as the Tooth Fairy).  He deserves credit for his choices.  Whether The Rock succeeds in proving his acting chops (Academy Award Acting nomination here we come, probably up against Daniel Day Lewis no less), if you enjoy the movie you might want to stream the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine – The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.
• Anemone
  

  What is an anemone?  Actually I sort of know but wonder why it would be the title of this movie.  Are they trying to bury it before anyone gets the chance to see it/  Consummate artist Daniel Day Lewis returns to acting after eight years in retirement.  Of course we who know his iconic performances beginning with My Left Foot will be first in line.  But a quick warning.  The film is written and directed by his son, a good enough reason for the Dad to return to the screen but maybe not a sign that this will be a movie deserving of great praise.
• Good Boy
  

  I have not seen a preview.  The over/under on my remaining in the theater more than 15 minutes is two to one.  Somehow a dog is involved in a horror film.  Good boy.
• One Battle After Another
  

  Leonardo DiCaprio with Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn, directed by auteur Paul Thomas Anderson (look him up).  Recently released Caught Stealing was a failed auteur madcap action film.  One Battle After Another looks great for those us who want to see a successful auteur madcap action film.  This could be the one.
• Gabby’s Dollhouse
  

  I do skip writing about most slasher films (e.g. this week’s Stranger 2).  And I prefer not to savage family films which are made for the youngest children without regard for the adults who feel obligated to take them.  Now the latest Spongebob Squarepants Christmas release is a different story.  Spongebob is classic.
• Him/The Senior
  

  Him is about a young football quarterback who finds himself in the midst of very strange doings. Produced by horror maestro Jordan Peele I have high hopes. The Senior is a faith based football movie. I find it interesting that both football movies are opening the same week, though they are not in competition with each other. What is fascinating is that they both have chosen to open during football season when fans of the sport are immersed in real football every day of the week and every minute of the day if so desired. Oh well. I wish both films great success.
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle
  

  Living with a 19 year old I am inundated with anime on my TV.  I did go with my son to the first Demon Slayer movie (it is also a popular series).  He was let down.  I enjoyed the movie very much.  Don’t even bring up dubbed versions of Japanese anime.  That’s a no-no.  Subtitles are in all the way.  The world is changing.  Korean K Pop is currently in vogue playing on Netflix while the same movie played in sold out theaters.  The same is true for this movies.  Sold out premium shows all weekend.  We are not alone anymore.
• Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
  

  I am not a fanboy of the TV series and movies, but I am a fan.  Overflowing with British intelligence the story now covering decades, I do not see anyway this can miss.
• Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
  

  I definitely laughed at the first many years ago.  I do not know what to expect.  Is the group still together?  Have they all survived?  I think you should take advantage of streaming and watch the first in preparation for viewing the second.
• The Long Walk
  

  Somehow I know nothing at all except the title and that this is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel. I have not seen a trailer which is great. I am going up to watch a preview right now completely in the dark. I don’t expect much but am ever hopeful.
• The Conjuring: Last Rites
  

  It looks the same as all the others – maybe more serious and less scary. Since it is the finale, expect the producers to come up with prequels and spin-offs.
• Caught Stealing
  

  I am afraid.  What will auteur director Darren Aronofsky do with hot young actor Austin Butler?   Based on the previews I am worried that this will be an out of control exaggeration of so many off the wall action films that have failed since the early days of the Coen Brothers.  I still want to see it and hope for the best.
• Superman
  

  Written By Michael Harris
  It feels like DC films have constantly been testing the waters lately. Due to the company’s many box office flops in recent years, DC decided that it would be in their best interests to reboot the franchise under James Gunn and Peter Safran. Superman plays it safe and uses what they know will work. With high stakes, honorable characters, and incredible graphics, the viewer is compelled to be invested in the story and its characters. However, the would-be dramatic scenes are undercut by the feeling that they were specifically made for the trailers, the main characters are seemingly one-dimensional even among moral dilemmas, and many subplots feel like they were cut. Still, Superman (2025) has a sort of originality that impresses me, even though its characters have been reused for decades. Overall, Superman is definitely a worthwhile watch for new and old fans alike as DC starts its new chapter.
• F1
  

  Written by Michael Harris
  F1 does not recreate the wheel but refines it. It takes the successful pieces of other franchises and joins them together in order to appeal to a wide audience. The protagonist, Sunny Hayes (Brad Pitt), fills a John Wick archetype, where his growth to become the best at what he does is not shown, but left to imagination in the form of a legacy. Because the film was by the director of Top Gun Maverick, it was given the technical tools to make it appear accurate to real life Formula 1 racing. However, the movie still feels unrealistic due to its downplaying of the dangers of racing and a predictable story. Filled with unnecessary subplots and a long two and a half hour run time, F1 loses most of its emotional impact, but is still an overall good action movie that is worth watching.
• Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
  

  Tom Cruise is a brute.   In his Mission Impossible movies his stunt work really is impossible.  The movies themselves have deteriorated over time, but the action is young Jackie Chan but with millions of dollars in preparation and invention backing up every death defying moment.  This “final” impossible and the one before ir are more than I can handle though I am sure I will leave the theater in awe of an old man astounding us all.
• The Surfer
  

  Another Nick Cage movie comes out of nowhere.  And I am glad.  Cage continues to step up to the plate and hit homers in movie after movie surrounded by young filmmakers all putting forth maximum efforts creating low budget genre hybrids.  I could tell you a little bit about this movie but, as always, the less you know the better.