Matching the changing weather and seasons happening in much of the world during the time of its illustrious release, Wicked For Good requires more than one firm temperature check, if you will. This bookend finale asks a great deal of its audience with a decidedly different mood, as the plot leaps five years ahead in time from the events of last year’s Wicked. Much of the bright, sunny, and friendly school-aged singing and dancing has evolved to power ballads that emote the traumatic heft of current circumstances.

MOVIE REVIEW: Jay Kelly

Jay Kelly muses on the celebrity lifestyle without preening as a glorified vanity project solely existing to shower bouquets on George Clooney and give him a fun co-star he can shoot hoops with in between trailers on a lavish European shoot. Because of its striking amplification of the titular legend’s insecurities and the people affected by them, Baumbach’s film finds refreshing drama amid all the comedic frolic of watching a famous person navigate a little bit of the public wild to better define a work-life balance.

MOVIE REVIEW: Nuremberg

Unlike Stanley Kramer’s much-lauded Judgment at Nuremberg from 1961, which took a more fictional/composite direction, this film uses as many real figures as possible. Even so, there’s plenty of pendulum space for a courtroom drama of this subject matter to veer somewhere between respectful and exasperating. James Vanderbilt had a choice, and he, as an experienced and successful screenwriter known best for his gaudy action flicks, perked up Nuremberg with a little pump and pomp.

2025, 3 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 5, 2025Nuremberg, Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, James Vanderbilt, Michael ShannonComment

MOVIE REVIEW: If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

What strengthens this viewing experience is the unyielding performance from Rose Byrne. Her expressive interpretation of both physical and mental fatigue is beyond anything she’s ever done and is one of the best acting displays of 2025. Her fully-formed comedic timing as a seasoned actress of that genre stirs the dark and uncomfortable humor that bubbles within If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

MOVIE REVIEW: Blue Moon

Richard Linklater, through thick and thin over the years, has never sunk as low as where Lorenz Hart finished his life and career, partially because he, too, has the same inextinguishable zest to challenge and create, and puts it on screen every chance he gets. Keep going, Richard. We’re here for it.

MOVIE REVIEW: Truth and Treason

Through it all, Truth and Treason means to call on more dissenters in this world. Either in the actual moment or in hindsight later, when people learn of or reflect on time periods of war and tyranny, they raise the question of where the dissenters were. Too often, the evil majority dominates the headlines and narratives of the given political or social conflict. In those times, conscientious objectors, protesters, or flat-out opponents of resistance were needed more than ever.

2025, 3 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 19, 2025Truth and Treason, Ewan Horrocks, Matt WhitakerComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Looking Through Water

This supporting role in an independent movie from Good Deed Entertainment is smaller in scope than his previous three credits in massive Marvel Cinematic Universe entries and pales in complexity to the memorable, morally complex characters on his resume, where this final bow may not feel important enough in some eyes. Nevertheless, there’s something special about placing Michael Douglas’s mystique in such a soft, simple position.

MOVIE REVIEW: Roofman

You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried, and even if you could, how many people would believe you? Better yet, how many folks would offer the classic exclamatory reaction of “They need to make a movie about that!” Well, your wish has been granted for a zany tale such as this by the unpredictable, unshy, and uncompromising Roofman, starring the newly middle-aged Channing Tatum in one of the most entertaining yarns in recent memory.

2025, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 11, 2025Roofman, Channing Tatum, Derek Cianfrance, Kirsten DunstComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Tron: Ares

The saving grace for Tron: Ares is the dose of splashy big screen entertainment it provides this fall. Continuing forward from the jaw-dropping dazzle of Tron: Legacy, Rønning’s dexterity and set pieces show off the prominent talent showing off across many artistic areas. True to its lasting cult success, no imaginative action idea was squelched or expense was spared in the set construction, prop creation, costume design, second unit, and stunt departments.

2025, 3 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 10, 2025Tron: Ares, Tron: Legacy, Tron, Jared Leto, Greta LeeComment

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: John Candy: I Like Me

The film’s energy comes from how Candy’s co-stars and collaborators talk about him. Leaning heavily on his old SCTV mates Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd, and the continuing Murray, no one is reading from an encyclopedia entry or reciting a biography. This circle of talent speaks about living those moments and what it was like to collaborate beyond when the cameras were rolling. Their asides and memories help frame a fuller picture of John Candy’s mindset and spirit.

MOVIE REVIEW: Death of a Ladies' Man

What could have been a morose, listless slog about a bitter whiner is energized into something of a soul-stirring seance in many layers and moments. If you’re taken away for 100 minutes to think about your life—what you’ve done and haven’t done—and what kind of man or person you want to be, one could do far worse than swoon to Gabriel Byrne and groove to Leonard Cohen.

2020, 2025, 3 STARS, Independent Film, Home Media, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 4, 2025Death of a Ladies' Man, Gabriel ByrneComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Smashing Machine

Still, how many times have we written Dwayne Johnson off? How many times have folks rolled their eyes at another beefy piece of blockbuster cheese with his name at the top of the poster? Well, those days are hopefully over. A corner has been turned with The Smashing Machine, and the trust granted to him by Benny Safide to make this character piece and hoist his talent to a higher plane.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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