Archive | May, 2026

That’s What a Good Song Can Do

26 May
Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd star in POWER BALLAD

John Carney is a filmmaker who frustrates me.

He makes music-centric movies that fall into two buckets. The first includes small-scale films like Once and Sing Street that are full of heart and feature hardscrabble characters who find salvation in their music. Both films also have soundtracks with one great song after another. (Perhaps not coincidentally, they both have been adapted for the stage; Once even won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2012.)

But Carney also tends to swing for the mainstream, and that’s when we get movies like Begin Again and Flora and Son, both of which feature more well-known actors (like Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) playing characters whose passion for music doesn’t ring as true. Likewise (and not surprisingly), the music in those films isn’t as good.

Unfortunately, Carney’s latest film, Power Ballad, falls in that latter bucket. And it’s a shame, because this one has all the makings of a true crowd pleaser. It’s just a bit off-key. Not a total trainwreck, but definitely not the kind of song you’re going to put on repeat.

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Is This the Way?

24 May
THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU

Nearly seven years after The Mandalorian helped launch the Disney+ streaming service, Mando and his sidekick, Grogu (aka Baby Yoda), hit the big screen in Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. 

The result is pretty much exactly what you’d expect: an extended episode of the show with bigger explosions, some fan service, and just enough heart to keep you engaged for more than two hours.

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It’s (Not) Real Love

12 May
Jade Navarrette and Michael Johnston star in OBSESSION

Curry Barker’s Obsession is exactly what it looks like on paper: a slick, high-concept horror movie built around a killer idea.

The setup is simple and deliciously dark: Bear (Michael Johnston), a painfully awkward music store employee, has been quietly in love with his best friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) for years. But instead of, you know, just telling her like a human, he stumbles across a cursed little trinket called the “One Wish Willow” and does what any horror protagonist with zero foresight would do: He wishes she loved him more than anything in the world. 

Surprise! It works. Actually, it works a little too well.

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Where Did You Go?

5 May
(Photo by Mostafa Meraji on Unsplash.)

We were friends.

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Look What T.J. Maxx Dragged In

1 May
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Stanley Tucci star in The Devil Wears Prada 2

Those of us who were, and still are, magazine fans remember fondly the glory days of the turn of the century, when magazines were still king (and queen).

When newsstands were plentiful, and there were so many titles to choose from. When being on the cover was a big deal. When articles would drive conversations. When editors had celebrity status. When budgets were loose, and the parties were big, must-attend, publicity-garnering events. When certain issues (ahem, September) would drop with the weight of a phone book, thanks largely to all the advertisements.

This was before the Internet drove everyone online. Before social media gave everyone their own publishing platform. Back then, print magazines mattered. I miss those days.

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