Jay Kelly 2025 * * * Stars

AND...CUT!

A film where George Clooney might be mirroring or even taunting his own real-life career as a Clark Gable-esque movie icon. Yeah I'm talking about 2025's Jay Kelly, one of those hard-line character studies that is about um, one Jay Kelly. I mean is Clooney's Jaybird going through a late, mid-life crisis? And does he like to travel by train so he can hobnob with the local denizens? And why do his daughters have the need to give him the tough love freeze out. "Look at you, you're the American dream." Oh fo sho George. Fo sho. 

So OK, with Jay Kelly you have helmer Noah Baumbach channeling lush direction a la splashy European locales, Altmanesque overlapping dialogue, and a few nifty tracking shots along the way. You want a PG-13 version of 2022's Babylon minus the usual debauchery and prolonged shenanigans? Well Jay Kelly might be right up your alley. You want a talky flick with a James L. Brooks-style script and a side persona played by Netflix's own best bud Adam Sandler just for kicks and giggles? Well Prego...it's in there with Jay Kelly.  

Rounding out at 132 minutes and complete with a lengthy, movie-within-a-movie sequence (remember '92's track-athon, The Player?), Jay Kelly is about famous trouper Jay Kelly (the Cloon-meister) and his manager Ron (Adam Sandler) halting production on their latest pic to head to Tuscany for some serious self-realization. 

Jay Kelly, well it probably needed an editor to tighten up clips of tapering-off jawing and excessive, absorbed preoccupying by various cast members (which include cameos by Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Stacy Keach, and Patrick Wilson). However, the vehicle has a dense, dramatic center and can sometimes leave you with a little lump in your throat. Also it caters heavily to Cloondog's naturalistic style of acting. Old world "Jay". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Being Eddie 2025 * * Stars

ED TV

2025's Being Eddie is like a vitalizing conch to pump Eddie Murphy up. I mean it's akin to all Ed's buds and cronies being life coaches to a dude that was once the box office, cream of the crop via the 1980s. In "Being", Murphy gives interviews from his lux mansion as he chills, spouting cuss words and projecting his always-in-character shtick. "I've done so many different types of things." Well Murph, add a 103-minute documentary to that almighty list. 

So yeah, let's get back to this thing as a whole shall we. Being Eddie is similar to a tribute video except Eddie is actually there to happily defend himself as opposed to the latter (I'm talking to you Richard Linklater). A film career archive here, an account from Murphy's acting colleagues there, Ed doing ventriloquist stuff a la Richard Pryor and the "Cos" from his kick-arse abode. Yeah "Being" is laid-back as all get out, sort of related to a Jerry Maguire paean except we're praising SNL's favorite son and not good old "TC". 

Now do I plan on recommending Being Eddie with its diverting way of showing us the walk of life of a screen legend that we already knew existed? I mean it's decent stuff but nah, not quite, nada. There's a hint of vanity going on here, a smidgen of intentional swagger (even though the Murph man was not a producer or any help behind the scenes). Um, I was a huge fan of Eddie Murphy back in the "Decade of Greed". I've seen Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop II so many times it would make your head spin. I don't really need something pasted together over a bromantic weekend with Ed's crew to tell me what I already could register. Mixed state of "being". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

My Top 10 Holiday Movies of All Time (2025 Reissue)

1. Scrooge 1951 * * * * Stars
    Director: Brian Desmond Hurst
    Rated G
    Cast: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner,
    Kathleen Harrison

The Alpha and Omega of holiday films with Alastair Sim fitting the role of grumpy miser Scrooge like a smooth Isotoner glove. This is the purest and most nostalgic entry of Dicken's classic tale that I can remember. This timeless story was remade countless times but never reached the emotional heights that director Brian Desmond Hurst's 1951 classic did.

2. Catch Me If You Can 2002 * * * * Stars
    Director: Steven Spielberg
    Rated PG-13
    Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks

Not necessarily a movie made about Christmas but its key scenes take place during that yule tide holiday. Leonardo DiCaprio, as bank forger Frank Abagnale, is in top form. Spielberg's direction is perfect. Overall, this is compulsively watchable stuff.

3. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
    1987 * * * 1/2 Stars
    Director: John Hughes
    Rated R
    Cast: John Candy, Steve Martin

Even though Thanksgiving has come and gone, it doesn't matter. This is still top notch holiday fare with two brilliant comedic actors giving the performances of their lives. Part dramedy, part road trip movie, and totally quotable, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles will make you laugh throughout. It will also leave you with a lump in your throat at the end.

4. Nothing Like the Holidays 2008 * * * Stars
    Director: Alfredo De Villa
    Rated PG-13
    Cast: Debra Messing, Freddy Rodriguez,
    Jay Hernandez

Ever since 2009, I make it a habit to watch this film at least three to four times in the month of December. It was shot about 10 miles from where I live, and it's a fine mixture of ensemble comedy and dramatic grievances involving a tight knit Puerto Rican family. They all get together for a bitingly cold Christmas break in Chicago's Humboldt park neighborhood. Very likable cast with every character having their own feasible back story. It's one of those flicks where if you live in Chicago, you say "oh yeah I've been there, I've driven down that street." Very authentic take on the Windy City locales.

5. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 1989
    * * * Stars
    Director: Jeremiah Chechik
    Rated PG-13
    Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo

Chevy Chase as bumbling family man Clark W. Griswold, gave his last credible performance in National Lampoon's take on nutty holiday cheer. A lot of gags are taken to the extreme and the scene where he puts Christmas lights on every single inch of his house, is something only his character would ever think of doing. Revolting cousin Eddie (Randy Quiad) shows up halfway in to add to the silliness. All and all, a sloppily made comedy that I initially thought had worn out its welcome. With every subsequent viewing, I changed my mind. A classic!

6. Scrooged 1988 * * * Stars
    Director: Richard Donner
    Rated PG-13
    Cast: Bill Murray, Karen Allen

Highly dark and satirical take on Charles Dicken's legendary tale. This time it's set in the 1980s with funnyman Bill Murray giving a quintessential "Bill Murray" type performance. Funny, cynical, with great one liners. Certain scenes however, might be too intense for younger viewers to take. Overall, if you like Murray's smarmy style of delivering dialogue, Scrooged will not disappoint.

7. A Christmas Story 1983 * * * Stars
    Director: Bob Clark
    Rated PG
    Cast: Peter Billingsly, Darren McGavin,
    Melinda Dillon

This is a silly, little comedy that turned into a Christmas cult classic. Peter Billingsly plays Ralphie, a impressionable young boy who only wants a BB gun for his under-the-tree present. A Christmas Story is told from his point of view. With memorable lines and some quirky characters, it's an addictive film you can watch relentlessly. Case in point: on TBS, this thing is shown 24 hours a day on the 24th and 25th of December.


8. A Christmas Carol 1938 * * * Stars
    Director: Edwin L. Marin
    Rating: Not Rated
    Cast: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart

Came before the Alastair Sim version but for some reason, is not as credible in terms of acting, directing, and conviction of the story. Still, it's entertaining enough in a lightweight sort of way. There is actually a color version of this film that is sometimes shown on network television. Overall, good fluff but the ending is short and by the book. It's not as invigorating as 1951's  masterpiece.


9. Just the Way You Are 1984 * * * Stars
    Director: Edouard Molinaro
    Rated PG
    Cast: Kristy McNichol, Kaki Hunter

The main reason why I put this film on the list is that it just reminds me of Christmas in general. It doesn't really involve the holidays, but it was on cable in the 80s and I must have watched it with my parents about a million times. Yes, it involves snow and skiing (in the French Alps), but mainly it's a love story about a woman with a handicapped leg who goes overseas to hide it and find Mr. Right. Honestly, nothing much goes on in this thing. However, it now reminds me of a certain time and place (December of 1985) so I'll just throw it in.


10. Prancer 1989 * * * Stars
      Director: John D. Hancock
      Rated G
      Cast: Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman

Prancer was filmed about 20 minutes from where I grew up. It's mildly entertaining and it's significant because every time I pass through Three Oaks, MI, I wonder how many of the townspeople own a DVD copy of it. Made over 35 years ago, the small Midwest town just mentioned, hasn't changed a bit. And even if you know that Santa Claus is a hoax, you'll still go along with this fable about a young girl's fascination with a wounded reindeer.

List compiled by Jesse Burleson

The Carmen Family Deaths 2025 * * * Stars

MENAGE PLAN

The Carmen Family Deaths has to do with a boy with autism and killings and family conflicts and inherited wealth oh my! It's sort of an enigma wrapped inside a riddle which is wrapped inside a poser, with main, mythical antagonist Nathan Carman appearing like a rather neutered, Keyser Soze squib. "The lack of things that were done raised questions." Are you sure about that boss? Are ya really? 

Anyway The Carmen Family Deaths is directed by Yon Montskin, a feature rookie who knows how to haunt his audience through overhead shots, archives, grainy interviews, ominous music, and effective, headlong editing. His film is a docu yet plays out like a Dateline episode with tons of panache. Josh Mankiewicz isn't hosting, Lester Holt isn't leading, this isn't TV swipe and well, that just makes it more efficacious, more Dateline-ish on the Netflix tip.

So OK, what is "Family Deaths" about? Well it has to do with a wealthy New England kid (Nathan Carman mentioned earlier) who just happens to be the prime murder suspect in the disappearance of his mom and the brutal shooting of his real estate developer grandfather. Now did Nate do these heinous crimes? And why is his fam so house divided? And um, why is he so darn stoic? Uh, we'll never know because Carman eventually offed himself in prison, awaiting his forlorn trial. 

The Carmen Family Deaths, yeah it comes off like pure fiction, shot so cleanly with such an unsullied print that every scene almost feels like a reenactment and/or something English helmer Paul Greengrass would have done back in the mid-2000s. As a documentary it's reality legal show smoke with a silver screen oddity. As a film of factual prose and bedeviled plotting it comes on like gangbusters in the Greek tragedy department. ""Deaths gripped". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Perfect Neighbor 2025 * * 1/2 Stars

DON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR 

The Perfect Neighbor is a true to life documentary only made more true to life by the fact that there's actual bodycam footage involved. That's right, no cheesy reenactments here, just the real deal kiddies. I mean it's rare that said footage could carry the diegesis of a 97-minute film on the real. With "Neighbor" you wonder how director Geeta Gandbhir did it, how she took I guess found, raw material and made it non-repetitive, non-humdrum, like an endless river. "What's the address of the emergency?" Uh, what emergency. Seriously.

Anyway The Perfect Neighbor is shot in the order of trivial incidences that lead to a sad tragedy at the end. It is edited well, with a little tension that seems to ratchet up every 20-minute interval or so. What hampers the film however is the fact that it's all so cut and dried when it could have delved so much deeper. A woman (Susan Lorincz) makes multiple 911 calls about her neighbors and their kids only to eventually shoot one of them dead through her front door. Yeesh! Lorincz eventually goes to trial and then prison and that's it, movie over, total ball game. I mean you take away Florida's stand-your-ground laws and I'm not sure what statement helmer Gandhir is trying to make here. No come to fruition moment, no revelation, just remnants of a standard, reality legal show sans creeper Keith Morrison at the wheel. 

Cray cray residents, Canadian broadcasters, and Sunshine State locales aside, "Neighbor" is like watching an episode of Cops mixed with The Blair Witch Project and an elongated two-part-er of Dateline, blender style. It's involving, with some ominous moments but seems like a rather lukewarm tribute to the lady who got killed at the hands of Susan Lorincz (that would be Ajike Owens). Pitchy "perfect". 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Who Killed the Montreal Expos? 2025 * 1/2 Stars

GROUNDOUT

I read somewhere on the Internet that the Montreal Expos stopped being the Montreal Expos in 2005. Um, that's like twenty years ago. I mean since then we've had the rise of social media, the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and the emergence of the iPhone. And people are well, still bringing up those 'Spos, an MLB team that won 1 division title in 25 years and had a bunch of losing seasons. "Montreal is a baseball city". Uh, you really think so Pedro Martinez? Really?

Anyway Who Killed the Montreal Expos? is my latest write-up, a documentary that seems constructed accidentally by a hyena who wandered into the editing room amped up on angel dust. Basically what I'm saying is this thing is fast-paced to the point where its cinematic form is nearly butchered. No real coda, no first act, no cogent spiel, just a lot of Expos particulars thrown at the screen like splatter paintings. "It started to fall apart". Yeah absotively boss. Absotively. 

Directed by TV vet Jean-Francois Poisson and rather blinkered when it comes to the opinions of Expos fans almost everywhere, Who Killed the Montreal Expos? is well, about the downfall of said team and how they left "The Land of Maple" to head to good old Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Nationals (how random is that?). 

Lots of archives on and off the celluloid faster than a speeding bullet. A lot of bad translation voices over the French-spoken interviews without the use of subtitles. A sort of soap-boxed, one-sided view from the denizens of Montreal, blaming the world for the Expos not being a franchise anymore. And this despite the fact that the owners were bad with money, the stadium stunk up the joint, and um, the first Major League Baseball team outside the US couldn't win Jack "you know what". I mean this film shouldn't be titled Who Killed the Montreal Expos? I think it should be titled an elongated, "Who Really Caaaares". Natch. 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Roofman 2025 * * * Stars

SAWTOOTH ROOF

Jeffery Manchester gets caught by the po-po after robbing a McDonald's. Jeffery escapes prison and hides out in a Toys "R" Us as he noshes on peanut M&M'S. Jeffery befriends a single mom and bible thump-er while being a fugitive. Jeffery Manchester attempts to leave the country under a new identity for 50k. Yup, that's the gist of Roofman, a moderate drama that I initially thought was an unconventional comedy. Whatevs. I mean don't let the poster fool ya, this isn't 1991's Career Opportunities people. 

The real-life Manchester, well he's played by Channing Tatum in probably his most raw and layered performance to date. Tatum's Jeffery is a smart dude but a lousy criminal. He's solid at evading the law but bad when he actually gets caught. Jeffery loves his "B and E's" by entering rooftops but sometimes goes to the wrong proprietorship. Yikes! Yeah this is a tailored role for the 45-year-old, Alabama native what with all his physical and mental portraying on display. I mean I can't see anyone else as Manchester except maybe 80s Matt Dillon or 90s Keanu. "But I was good at seeing things". Uh, no doubt Tatum. No doubt my brother. 

True story characters and "cool breezes" aside, Roofman is well directed by Derek Cianfrance, a helmer known for crime and punishment aftermaths. He takes over two hours to commit to every frame while making Jeffery Manchester a sympathetic denizen who's probably better off being behind bars and wearing the almighty jumpsuit than hurting people on the outside. His cast is tops too, with Tatum, Kirsten Dunst as Jeffery's love interest, and LaKeith Steinfield as Steve, an army vet who helps Manchester get into say, illegal witness protection. Meaty script, great narration by Channing, grandiose, situational irony. Roofman, well it raises that aesthetic "roof". Natch. 

Written by Jesse Burleson

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere 2025 * * * Stars

RADIO SOMEWHERE

Bruce Springsteen creates the album Nebraska from the bedroom of his New Jersey abode. "The boss"  battles depression and meets a pseudo groupie looking for a relationship. Bruce has flashbacks of his alcoholic father and contemplates suicide. Yup, that's the gist of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, a somewhat dark drama that's edited choppily yet packs enough of a wallop for any portrait of a rocker that's chock full of inner demons. 

Brucie, well he's played by Jeremy Allen White, a dude that doesn't look or sound like Jersey's favorite son. Oh well. He gets the slouch right, the hair is in place, and the hunch, well it's not too shabby either. "I do know who you are." Duh, who doesn't know who Springsteen is. I mean unless you've been hanging out in an igloo since 1973. 

So yeah, "Deliver" is not really a concert movie so don't expect the bossman to belt out a bunch of hits. This is a character study mind you, a supposed, true story character study that shows Bruce in his brooding element circa 1981-1982. 

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, yeah it's directed by Scott Cooper, he of Out of the Furnace and Black Mass fame. Cooper with rack focus, dark hues, and close-ups in tote, makes "Deliver" the product of doom and gloom, the monger of grubby and total slovenly. Heck, whenever I watch his movies I feel like I'm getting off work from an 18-hour steelworker shift only to find myself heading over to the local waterhole to sip a cold brewski. Believe that.

Film-making adroitness and Pennsylvania crime thrillers aside, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere suffers slightly when it paints Bruce Springsteen as nearly in a brown study with a trifling "whoa is me" persona. Other than that it's well, earthy cinema, a snapshot canvas of a legendary American singer who was once considered the next Bob Dylan. Lighten up "Boss", "Deliver" pretty much "delivers" the goods. Natch. 

Written by Jesse Burleson

John Candy: I Like Me 2025 * * 1/2 Stars

"WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET"

3rd time director (and actor) Colin Hanks helms John Candy: I Like Me. And how it took over thirty years to make a documentary about Candy's short existence is beyond me. "I Like Me" is a portrait of John, one of Canada's most successful comedic talents via film and TV. "This is a guy who, the minute you see his face, you're gonna smile". You tell 'em Dave Thomas. You tell 'em bro.

John Candy: I Like Me, well it's like the most garden variety docu you've ever seen, told chronologically like some bullet point presentation inspired by Last Dance monger and occasional producer Jason Hehir. I mean we know Candy was part owner of the Toronto Argonauts, we know he got his start playing various characters on SCTV, and we know he was a big, lovable galoot who was taken from us much too early (Candy died at age 43 in 1994). So why do we keeping watching the swipe that is "I Like Me?" Well everyone "likes" John Candy and myself, I'm just fascinating by his acting talent in films like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, JFK, and Splash. As Bert Lance said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". 

So yeah, John Candy: I Like Me has interviews from John's buds like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, and the late Harold Ramis. There are also archives from Candy's career in the industry and revelations about his health (Johnny boy lost over 100 pounds before Hollywood encouraged him to put the weight back on, yikes!). What "I Like Me" fails to do however, is bring anything new to the transmission ring. The flick just feels like it's slightly fan-made, kind of akin to some safe paean without the panache. If it wasn't for the way Colin Hanks thinks in cuts or provides the pic with crisp, sprightly editing I would have panned John Candy: I Like Me completely. "Like" it or lump it. Natch. 

Written by Jesse Burleson

My Father, the BTK Killer 2025 * * Stars

KILLER CROC

"Can you imagine finding out that your father is one of the most evil people on earth". That would be totally rough, especially if pops hid that murderous smoke for many decades. Dennis Rader, we hardly knew ya! Ugh.

Anyway My Father, the BTK Killer is a product of good old Netflix, slightly skewed, merely dated, and almost half-done at 93 minutes. I mean this documentary is like two films in one, colliding with each other like freaking passing ships. You have one flick depicting serial slayer Rader, the John Wayne Gacy of Wichita and Park City, Kansas. The other involves Dennis Rader's daughter in one Kerri Rawson, a woman that doesn't know the meaning of time healing all wounds and actual abstemiousness. 

Um, why dredge up the past with one more interview Kerri? And why the need to hug the spotlight of daddy when everyone still keeps giving you the business about it? Rawson's soapbox-like plight combined with law enforcement's relentless pursuit of a deranged lunatic gives "BTK Killer" the feel of being a very uneven viewing experience. "He doesn't just fool an entire family, he fools an entire city". Yikes!

Directed by TV veteran Skye Borgman and released in October of 2025, My Father, the BTK Killer is decently paced, has some eerie moments, some solid interviews, and provides grainy archives from 1974 to 1991 (the years Dennis Rader offed ten people under the radar, nudge nudge). I mean if you take away the presence of drawn-out Kerri Rawson, "BTK Killer" unfolds nicely, like an enthralling Dateline episode a la creep-o Keith Morrison at the helm. But Rawson just has to chew the almighty scenery mind you, inhabiting most of the screen time and eyeing My Father, the BTK Killer like an unintentional vanity enterprise on the low. "Father lasher". 

Written by Jesse Burleson