Today on "Words On Film", Dan Burke reviews "Saturday Night", "The Apprentice", and "Stopping the Steal". Mr. Burke also runs down the movies subject to being released into theaters and/or on streaming for the week of October 14th - 18th, 2024.
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For this show, I have two brand new movies to review for you, and another one that semi-new that came out actually nearly a month ago, but I didn't get to review it on the show until now. And it's largely because I had a lot of movies to review on other shows that I'd done previously, and also I had a shortage of movies to review for this show because of time. But I still got a fair number of new movies in, and I'm going to review each and every one of them for you right now. And I'm honestly not sure there were a number of ambitious films that came out, and usually the one that I start with is the one that is probably going to be number one of the box office, but in this case, I'm not exactly sure because the two movies that I'm reviewing for you are R-rated, and usually R-rated movies, unless they're based on comic books, like Deadpool for example, are usually not number one of the box office, and there was one movie that I was dying to see this week that I didn't get a chance to see, but I'll see it for you on probably next week's show, or whenever I do my next show, which will presumably be next week. So let's start with the movie that I will just come out and say I liked the most. The first movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Saturday Night. This is based on a true story, although it probably has some dramatic elements thrown in, that's what the disclaimer says at the very end credits, but Saturday Night is based on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live that aired on NBC on October 11th, 1975, 49 years to the day on which Saturday Night, the movie, premiered in theaters, and SNL is celebrating its 50th season this year, and Lauren Michaels is still producer, although he's made it clear that this will be his last year as producer, and who knows what the future of SNL will hold after this. But the reason the movie is called Saturday Night is not only because it takes place on Saturday Night, but also because Saturday Night Live, before it got its name, was actually known as NBC's Saturday Night. It was later on that it became Saturday Night Live, largely because there was another show that was on ABC that aired simultaneously, or not simultaneously, but on the same night, although the show, Saturday Night Live with Howard Kossell, aired more in prime time, or definitely not as late as NBC's Saturday Night aired. But this movie takes place in Studio 8H and 30 Rockefeller Center, where SNL still airs its shows to this day, but it's not the institution, or at least it wasn't the institution, but back in 1975 that it is now, and even Lauren Michaels, who went on to become the individual who's been nominated for more Emmys than any other individual in Emmy history, was still kind of a scrappy up-and-comer. He was 30 years old when SNL first premiered, and he's played in this movie by Gabrielle Bell, who you might remember as the vicarious Steven Spielberg transplant in the movie The Fablemans, and Gabrielle LeBell, like Lauren Michaels, is Canadian. But unlike Lauren Michaels, at least in 1975, Gabrielle LeBell is actually 22, whereas Lauren Michaels, in 1975, or in on October 11, 1975, was 30, just a month shy of being 31. And even though Gabrielle LeBell did well in this film playing Lauren Michaels, I couldn't help but notice that I knew that I was watching somebody who was in their early 20s versus somebody who was in their early 30s. And being someone who's been both those ages by now, there is a difference in terms of attitude and also in terms of world experience between somebody who's 22 and presumably out of college, and somebody who is 30 and presumably has a lot of life experience. But Gabrielle LeBell still did well here, playing someone who is juggling so many big egos, so many crew members, and also satisfying some of the affiliates. Because according to this film, many of the higher ups at NBC, including some people who had clout like Johnny Carson, were counting NBC Saturday night out because really it hadn't proven anything. But at the same time, Lauren Michaels was somebody who at the time had nothing to lose, except maybe his career in television. But this movie details the minutes, literally the minutes from 10 o'clock to 1130 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, where SNL was preparing to air for the very first time with special guest host George Carlin, and also musical guests Billy Preston and Janice Ian. Because at the time, it wasn't established that SNL, then known as NBC Saturday Night, was to have one musical guest usually, as opposed to just two. It was still trying to find its footing. But in this hour and a half that's leading up to SNL getting on the air, a ferocious troop of young comedians and writers changed television forever. Only they didn't exactly know it. This movie allows you to find out what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of the show that would ultimately become Saturday Night Live. And this movie is actually not based on a book. You would imagine that it would be based on a nonfiction book like Live From New York, which even though it's about five or six hundred pages, it is totally a firsthand account about the history of Saturday Night Live leading up to, I think it's 40th anniversary. And Live From New York is a book that I zoomed through when I first got it about 20 years ago, because I've been watching Saturday Night Live for years and even when I wasn't young, even when I wasn't old enough to stay up and watch Saturday Night Live, or at least with my parents permission, I still had some videotapes of the best of Saturday Night Live, including one tape that I got in 1993 about the best commercials, which I still remember a lot of those commercials, not necessarily the ones from the 70s either. So I know a lot about the history of SNL and especially its first five seasons, and the director of this film is Jason Reitman, who co-wrote the screenplay along with Gil Keenan. And the two of them had teamed up for the last two Ghostbusters movies, which I thought were relatively subpar cash grabs, but fortunately Saturday Night may be the best film that Jason Reitman has directed, and Jason Reitman does have a nepotism advantage over some other people who might have worked a little bit harder to get into Hollywood in that Jason Reitman's father is Ivan Reitman, and while Ivan Reitman didn't work on Saturday Night Live, he did work with a lot of SNL alum, like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, in the various films that Ivan Reitman produced and directed. That's just naming a few of the SNL alum, but there are so many supporting performances in here, it's really hard and just a 10 minute interview to get to the ones that I thought really shined, but I'll try my best. So as I said, Gabriel Lebel, who plays Lauren Michaels, did a serviceable job playing someone who is frantically while at the same time trying to be calm and trying to juggle all the responsibilities of being a producer of a late night show that still hasn't proven anything to anyone, let alone the higher ups at NBC yet. I also thought some other standout performances included Rachel Sennett, who played Lauren Michaels, then wife and co-writer of the show, Rosie Schuster. There was also some excellent supporting performances by the likes of Corey Michaels Smith, Dylan O'Brien, Ella Hunt, LeMourne Morris, and Matt Wood, who play Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, and John Belushi, respectively. And at first glance, you don't exactly know that they're, or rather, you know the people they're playing because they imitate them so well. They don't so much have the physical resemblance, but once the movie gets going, you begin to forget the fact that this isn't a lookalike contest and really see them for who they are allegedly playing. And they got into the characters and also the mannerisms of all these real life people very well. I also have to commend Nicholas Braun for playing both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. And Nicholas Braun could have just played Jim Henson, in fact, I think he probably played Jim Henson better than he did Andy Kaufman, but it still was neat to see Nicholas Braun kind of slip into both of these roles in a chameleon-like way, particularly because Nicholas Braun is 6'7", and is a lot taller than Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson were in real life, who were 6'1" and 6'3", respectively. Also noteworthy is Cooper Hoffman, who played Dick Ebersall, who would later go on to be the producer of SNL when Lorne Michaels left the show. A lot of long stories here, I wish I could give you what really worked about this film, but largely the performances in this film were all in all so good that I felt less like I was watching a dramatization, more like I was watching a documentary, which is why I give Saturday night my rating of a knockout. I think it spoke to the kinetic and subversive energy that SNL had when it was first airing and also how it was ultimately going to prove itself as a contender on NBC, and it didn't take long for the show to do so. It was only a matter of a few episodes later where SNL became rather than just a subversive show on late night, it became an institution. It didn't take long for that, and there were times where SNL was almost canceled, but this movie doesn't delve into the entire history of SNL, it just delves into the first night leading up to the first broadcast, and I think that was a very smart move for Jason Reitman to focus on an hour and a half of a show with a very prolific history, and just about everyone in this film acted incredibly well, and Jason Reitman probably directs his best movie with Saturday night. Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken word show dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is The Apprentice. This is the latest dramatized film about a young Donald Trump who, when this movie first begins, is a guy in his early 30s and the 70s who is working to begin his real estate business with the helping hand of infamous lawyer Roy Cohen. And considering this film is coming out within a month of the 2024 election, this will undoubtedly ruffle some feathers. And this movie makes clear in the very beginning that it is based on true events and some scenes, although they don't emphasize which ones, are actually put in there for dramatic effect. And if they said which scenes were true and which ones were fictitious, they probably would be sued because if anybody can sue you in a heartbeat for the slightest defense, it will most certainly be Donald Trump. And it doesn't matter whether or not an affiliate's district judge would be able to throw the case out, Donald Trump would just sue you anyway. But the movie is actually not based on a book. It's based on a screenplay written with the story and screenplay written by Gabriel Sherman. And the director of this film is Ali Abbasi, who is an Iranian director who has previously directed a number of other films, but I haven't actually seen some of these films. He directed Shelly in 2016, Border in 2018, and Holy Spider in 2022. And those are his feature films. I definitely won't get into the full length films that he directs. But in this film, the apprentice, Donald Trump is portrayed in his 30s and 40s by Sebastian Stan, and the controversial lawyer Roy Cohen, who once defended Joseph McCarthy as well as other nefarious individuals, is played by Jeremy Strong. And Jeremy Strong is known for being a prolific actor, but he is portraying Roy Cohen after Al Pacino did about 20 years after Al Pacino did in the HBO mini series Angels in America. And Al Pacino is a very tough act to follow, but Jeremy Strong, giving the best performance in this film, shows that he is up to the task. And Jeremy Strong is really the biggest reason this film works. Because of course, Roy Cohen was a very controversial person, not just a very controversial lawyer. He's known for prosecuting the Rosenbergs, and actually, even though Roy Cohen was Jewish, he actually says something very anti-Semitic about the Rosenbergs in this film. He uses the word that I won't repeat on this broadcast, because it may get me in trouble with both the studio, the station management, as well as the FCC. But in this movie, which at first takes place in 1973, a young Donald Trump actually meets Roy Cohen at an exclusive New York City restaurant, and he complains that the federal government is investigating his real estate mogul father, Fred Trump, who's played here in another chameleon-like performance by Martin Donovan. And the look that they have for Fred Trump here, as Martin Donovan plays him, is definitely on point. And eventually, the reason that Fred Trump is being investigated is because he has allegedly discriminated against African-American tenants in his series of apartments. And Roy Cohen, much of the chagrin of Fred Trump, actually offers to help. But it's only later when Trump wants to build a luxury hotel in a very nefarious part of New York City, that Roy Cohen comes to his defense not only to allow him to build the hotel, but also to give him some tax breaks. This of course upsets many New Yorkers and is only the start of Donald Trump's life and crimes, or at least his career in his crimes. And while this movie doesn't go into a deep dive of Donald Trump's life crimes and careers, it does delve into some of his other things for which he's well known, such as his relationship with Ivana Trump, who in this movie is played by Maria Bakalova. And there are some scenes in this film where Donald Trump treats Ivana Trump a certain way. There's one very uncomfortable scene where he rapes Ivana Trump, but it is really unknown whether or not this scene was based on something real, or if it was put in there for dramatic purposes. My guess is that Donald Trump himself will deny this part, probably of all of them, up and down. But undoubtedly, he didn't have a very happy marriage to Ivana. And that was largely his fault. But everything else in this movie that Donald Trump says and does by way of Sebastian Stan, I totally believe there are some shocking things in this film, but very much like Mary Trump's book, memoir, too much and never enough, there's a lot that's shocking, but almost nothing that's particularly surprising. As a matter of fact, I felt like the movie honed in a little bit more on Donald Trump's life and career than it did Roy Collins. And the movie could have detailed Roy Cohen's life and career, but it did keep the focus on the relationship between Roy Cohen and Donald Trump. And it also showed that Donald Trump treated Roy Cohen in really bad and dismissive ways. Once Donald Trump got the worldwide reputation of being a real estate tycoon in the 80s. Did Roy Cohen exactly deserve this? Well, there were some times where I actually felt bad for Roy Cohen before I snapped out of it and realized that Roy Cohen was also a very bad person whose life and decisions led ultimately to his downfall and his death. But I did feel like the movie lost its focus in various areas. As a matter of fact, if it had stuck to the relationship between Roy Cohen and Donald Trump and just made it its primary focus, I think it would have been better. But I did actually find the parts where Donald Trump is having certain difficulties with his older brother Freddie Trump or Fred Trump Jr. who's played in this movie by Charlie Carrick, a bit cartoonish and also somewhat uneven because the movie portrays Fred Trump Jr. as a cartoonish drunk, particularly towards the end. And when Fred Trump Jr. ultimately dies, I felt like the scenes weren't particularly focused on the grief that the family may have held or maybe didn't hold because Fred Trump and Donald Trump were, of course, very, I can't exactly say they were immoral, but they didn't put their morals on their sleeves. And I think even they would admit that as well. And the movie does lose its focus when it gets mired into the controversies of Donald Trump. But I do think that Sebastian Stan actually did very well portraying Donald Trump without making him seem too cartoonish. And that's very hard to do considering that the real life Donald Trump is cartoonish as it is. But because of the apprentice's lack of focus here, I give the apprentice my rating of a check out. I do think it is well focused rather. I do think that Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong do give strong performances here, especially Roy Cohen. But I think it almost gets lost in the glitz, the glamour, and the controversies of Donald Trump's life. And actually, sometimes I don't think it is as critical of Donald Trump as I think it probably should have been. Not to mention being as critical of Roy Cohen. But I think that the scenes that work the best are when Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong are in the same scene together, or even when Jeremy Strong is sharing a scene alone. But this is a movie that will probably ruffle some feathers for about a week, but very much like the movie W in 2008 that starred Josh Brolin and was directed by Oliver Stone, I think in a couple of weeks, the apprentice will largely be forgotten. Welcome back to words on film. The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Stopping the Steel, which is a documentary that premiered on HBO on September 17, 2024. And I'm a little late getting to it, but I thought it was a great segue to go from reviewing the apprentice to reviewing Stopping the Steel. And Stopping the Steel specifically hones on the events from November 3, 2020 to January 6, 2021, approximately. There are a couple of days before and after that that are referred to very briefly, but this is a movie about the big lie and getting folks to watch the documentary about the big lie is a big ask. And by the way, the big lie is not something that I refer to this, the events that lead up to this movie as this is something that Donald Trump coined himself when he became the first president in recent memory to not concede defeat in the 2020 election, something he still hasn't done largely to this day. And this movie features interviews by a number of people, including probably most notably William Barr, who was the US Attorney General under Donald Trump from 2019 to 2020, in addition to Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was the White House Director of Strategic Communications just in 2020. Like William Barr, Alyssa Farah Griffin was one of the few people in Donald Trump's intimate circle to tell Donald Trump that he lost the election. And Donald Trump, because he is Donald Trump, denied it up and down and kept on giving the narrative to anyone who would listen that he did win the election. And this movie also details some other players in the big lie or rather the attempt for Donald Trump to try to get himself to be the winner of the election, which includes a reporter for the Arizona Republic by the name of Ronald Hanson. Also the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors member, the chairman of that Board of Supervisors, Clint Hickman. Also the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Bill Gates, not the founder of Microsoft, by the way, I just want to make that particularly clear. And there are other people who are interviewed here too, including the QAnon shaman who was the image of the January 6th insurrection, Jacob Chansley, who is also surprisingly interviewed in this film as well. And one of the people who is not interviewed for this documentary, who I think should have been interviewed and it was a missed opportunity that didn't get him, was Mike Pence. There are people in this film who are closely associated with Mike Pence, such as Greg Jacobs, who is the counsel to the vice president from 2022-2021. But Mike Pence really, really needed to be interviewed for this documentary. And my guess is that they tried to get him and he wasn't available, but honestly, we haven't heard from Mike Pence very much over the last four years and to Mike Pence's credit. And Mike Pence is a person I really don't like, but he did do the right thing on January 6th, despite the odds that were against him and also the mob of people who wanted him to be hanged, literally. We've all seen the archive footage of the January 6th riots, as well as the pictures that were being taken, the videos and all the rest. But Mike Pence really needs to come out and say what he needs to say. And also detail his experiences that day. I know he's done that in some interviews, but we really needed his input for this documentary. It was great that they got Bill Barr and Alyssa Farah Griffin to be interviewed for this documentary, even though I have a feeling of mistrust for both of them. But stopping the steal is a very non-judgmental look at the events from Election Day 2022, the day that the electoral votes were certified the next year in 2021. And I also commend a lot of the other people here who were not only campaigning for Donald Trump, but also had the power themselves to overturn the election, but chose not to do so because there are bigger things in the United States of America than allegiance to one's party. And what they were up against were not only people who wouldn't know them from somebody else walking down the street who were calling their office and making death threats, but also Donald Trump was calling them and asking them to find additional votes, votes that didn't exist. So stopping the steal is a documentary that gives you a good account of some of the events that transpired within these two months. There were some other ridiculous events as well as some pro-Trump supporters who acted ridiculously in some of these instances, not just January 6 that could have been included here. For example, there were some people who were chanting, "Stop the count" in some voting offices and other people in other voting offices who were saying, "Start the count." And they were all on the same side. So there were these other ridiculous contradictions that stopping the steal could have also detailed. And the way it looks is that a lot of Americans have very selective memories, even of the last four years, and some people have very selective memories about Donald Trump's presidency. And I don't think stopping the steal is one of those documentaries that's going to change a lot of people's minds. As a matter of fact, there are Trump supporters out there who I doubt will even view this documentary, let alone criticize it. But stopping the steal gets my rating of a checkout. I do think it is an adequate documentary that tells you some things you may not have known previously. And it does have assets in William Barr, Clint Hickman, Bill Gates, who is the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, or a member of the Board of Supervisors who are in this film who give detailed accounts of what was going through their heads in these two months. But this documentary I think could have been great if they had gotten Mike Pence. And I think it was not exactly a missed opportunity because documentary filmmakers can interview who they interview, and that they don't have a lot of choice into people who declined to be interviewed. But they could have at least given some sort of written epilogue about whether or not they reached out to Mike Pence successfully or not and what he said. But Mike Pence really needs to come out and speak, and maybe that's not an exact criticism of the documentary stopping the steal. But it's not a documentary that preaches to the converted, but it is a documentary that had some crucial missed opportunities that prevents it from being a great documentary. [Music] Welcome back to Words on Film. It's now time for me to get into my final segment, or at least the first part of my final segment, which is What's Coming Up Next. This is a spoken word preview of movies that are subject to being released in theaters for the week of October 14th through October 18th, 2024. And there's a movie that is subject to being released in theaters on Tuesday, October 15th, and the movie is called Between the Beats. This is a documentary that looks into the San Francisco EDM rave scene of the early 90s. Some of the people who will be interviewed for this documentary include DJ Harvey, Brian Bellendorf, DJ Doc, and DJ Garth. And there are some very short DJ names here, but this is a documentary that may or may not come out in a theater near me, but if it does, I'll see it and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another documentary that is subject to being released this time on October 16th is a movie that's called another documentary that's music based that's called Taehyung, T-Y Track and Cinemas. And yes, that is actually the name of the movie. It doesn't exactly have a plot, but it is presumably about a K-pop star by the name of Taehyung, and chances are I will not see this movie. Not because I have anything against K-pop, some of the K-pop I actually like, but I don't know very much about Taehyung, and considering this is slated to come out on a Wednesday, it's probably not coming out in a theater near me. But if it's coming out in a theater near you, there you go. That's the information for you, you're welcome. On Thursday, October 17th, 2024, there are two movies that are subject to being released in theaters. One of them is a documentary called The Great Warning, which is a documentary that chronicles the fast-finding research of an unprecedented apocalyptic event in our Earth. It's explored through the lens of science, history, and spirituality. So I don't know exactly if this is a film about climate change, which may result in an apocalypse, and I'm sorry to scare you there, but that's just the reality of the world in which we live. But this movie is directed by and written by Juan Carlos Salas-Tamez, and features Mar Carrera, Luana, Copani, and Axel de La Rosa. So I probably won't see this film, but if it's coming out in a theater near you, you can see it for yourself. Another film that is subject to being released on Thursday, October 17th, is another documentary. This one, like the first two movies I mentioned, is a music-related documentary, and it's called Tom Petty Heartbreakers Beach Party. And this is Lost 16-millimeter Reels documentary documenting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was 1982 to 1983, long after dark album cycle, including footage originally aired on MTV in 1983. And the director of this film is Cameron Crow, whom we haven't heard from in about 10 years. He directed the movie Aloha, which was controversial not only because it was a particularly not his best film, but also because Emma Stone played someone who was a quarter Asian, yet she's not Asian in real life. And Cameron Crow has since apologized for that, and I'm dying to see another Cameron Crow film because I have the feeling that Cameron Crow, should he be influenced to make another dramatized film, could make a directorial comeback. But Tom Petty Heartbreakers Beach Party is certainly directed by someone who has not only a movie making experience, but also has music journalism experience, like Cameron Crow does. So this is a film that I'd like to see, but I don't know if I will because it's coming out on a Thursday, and who knows whether or not it's going to be in theaters for very long. It may be one of those fathom events movies I don't exactly know, but it's a movie that I may see, and if I do, I'll let you know what I think on a future show. But it is Friday, October 18, where there are a number of big films, and some small films, that are subject to being released in theaters. The first one is a movie that's called Smile 2, which is the sequel to the movie Smile that starred Sophie Bacon that came out about two or three years ago. And this movie is about different characters who have the same problem, where there are people who give off creepy smiles and could potentially kill them. And it's kind of a nightmare situation. I wasn't crazy about the original Smile movie. I thought it was hokey, and I actually thought the people who smiled could have been scarier, not to mention there were some, you know, just basically laugh at moments as opposed to laugh with moments. But this movie is about a global pop sensation by the name of Sky Riley, who, about to embark on a world tour, begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressure of fame, Sky is forced to face her past. And this movie is written and directed by Parker Finn, and the stars of the movie include Naomi Scott, who plays Sky Riley, Kyle Galner, Drew Barrymore, who actually plays herself, Ray Nicholson, Lucas Gage, and Rosemary DeWett also round up the cast of this movie. From what I can see, there aren't anyone from the original Smile film who's in this film, but I think this could have the potential of being a solid film, and I'm very intrigued to see it, even though I wasn't crazy about the original Smile movie. That's, you know, different characters, different scenarios, this could be a winner. But to determine whether or not it's a winner, I will see it, and I will let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to being released in theaters on October 18th is a romantic drama by the name of We Live in Time. And the stars of this movie include Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, and this is about an up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcee, who find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together in a decade spanning deeply moving romance. So this movie has a lot in terms of how the description that I just read could be extrapolated, but with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh as the leads, this has a promising start. I got to tell you, because I've seen Andrew Garfield in some bad movies, but he's one of those actors. I haven't seen him act badly in any movie in which he's acted. I think he turned in his best performance in Tick Tick Boom, which came out in 2021. That was an excellent film. He was excellent in it. And the Academy, even though 2021 was a great year for musicals, didn't give a lot of attention to musicals that year. There were a number of musicals that got snubbed for nominations, and even though Andrew Garfield got a deserved Oscar nomination for Tick Tick Boom, I did think that Tick Tick Boom should have been nominated for more, but that's another story for another time. But we live in Time, looks like a very promising film. I will see it and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to being released in theaters on October 18th is a movie that's called rumors and rumors is spelled the way the British spell it. R-U-M-O-U-R-S kind of like the title of the best-selling Fleetwood Mac album, but this movie is not about Fleetwood Mac. It's about the leaders of seven wealthy democracies who get lost in the woods, I believe literally, while drafting a statement on global, excuse me, on a global crisis and they face danger as they attempt to find their way out. This sounds a little bit like the movie The Watchers, but M-Night Shyamalan has nothing to do with this film. It was co-directed by and written by Evan Johnson, who directed this movie along with Galen Johnson, whether or not they're related I don't know, and Guy Madden. But it does have an impressive roster of talent in front of the camera, including Kate Blanchett, Rolando, Raveo, Charles Dance, and Nikki Amuka Bird, amongst other people. Now, it's worth it to know that Kate Blanchett acted in a movie earlier this year that was really bad, and it also starred Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and some other actors. I can't say that this movie is going to be great just because Kate Blanchett is in it, but it is promising in that regard, but the movie I was talking about by the way is Outlanders, I just forgot the name of it, but man that was a terrible film, but it wasn't entirely Kate Blanchett's fault that it was bad, actually it wasn't Kate Blanchett's fault at all, but Rumors is a film that I might see, and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to be released in theaters on October 18th is a movie that's called Rippy, and Rippy is a comedy horror mystery, interesting combination of genres there, and it's about a young sheriff who, obsessed with living up to his dead father's legacy, finds her metal tested when locals are found ripped to shreds. Oifei, the movie is directed by Ryan Coonin and stars Michael Bean, Tess Hobberick, and Aaron Peterson, not any actors that I know right off the top of my head, but this movie sounds particularly chilling and it's coming out right in time for Halloween, so maybe this is a film that I'll see, but I'm probably going to see Smile 2 before I see Rippy. Another movie that's subject to be released in theaters on October 18th is a movie that's called Roblox, the movie. I don't know exactly what Roblox are, oh actually there are toys that are kind of like Legos, but this movie is certainly coming after the Lego movie, actually several Lego films, so yeah it has a very tough act to fall in that regard, but when a noob's life is boring, one day a hacker hacks all players, the only one left is Noob, he will team up with Richie Rich who will help him, can they stop the entity ahead of them? I can't answer that question for you because that is the end of the synopsis right there, but this movie is animated and features the voice talents of Matthew Marshall, Noah Sindelar, Wyatt Yuchenowitz and Jonah Kamey amongst other people. I don't know any of these voice actors, but a lot of times my complaint is I don't like to know who the voice actors actually are, but when I've seen so many films where the voice actors are given top billing in an animated film, I guess I've also been kind of spoiled, but Roblox is a movie that looks like the Lego movie, particularly where it's dealing with a character's life who becomes boring, rather the life becomes boring and something exciting happens, that's a typical movie trope right there, but Roblox the movie is a film I'm curious about, I don't know if I actually like it, and I've never played Roblox before in my life, so this movie might be one of those films that I'll see, but I'm not counting on it, and there are other movies that are coming out or subject to being released in theaters on October 18th, one of them is a horror film that according to IMDB was made in 2023 and it's called I Will Never Leave You Alone, which is actually a great title for a horror film, but it's about a brooding man with a dark past who, after being released from prison, is forced to stay in a haunted house to clear it of spirits, if he leaves he goes back to prison, but the witch ghost may be more punishment than he can withstand, that already sounds like a very fascinating synopsis of such a movie, and the movie stars Kenneth Trujillo, Katarina Eichenberger, and Christopher Henavisi, amongst other people, it's not any actors that I know right off the top of my head, but man, the premise itself sounds particularly chilling because this guy doesn't want to go back to prison, but there's a price to pay for going back to prison if he is able to stay in this haunted house, and by the way, why would somebody consult an ex-convict to clear a haunted house of its spirits, why would that be the first person somebody goes to? Well, the movie will probably show you that it's probably not the protagonist's first choice, but I'm still intrigued by this film, but considering how low it is down on the list of films that are subject to being released in theaters on October 18th, chances are I may not see it, but I'll keep an eye out for it because the premise sounds particularly chilling, and the last movie that I'm going to mention that's subject to being released on October 18th is a movie that's called Kansuke's Kingdom, and this, like the Roblox movie, is animated, but unlike the Roblox movie, this looks to be an anime, i.e. a film that was released in Japan and has been released in the United States with celebrity dub overs, but this movie is about a young man by the name of Michael who is shipwrecked on a remote island and must adapt to life alone, but over time, he feels another presence, learning that this world is home to both unimaginable danger and beauty. Some of the voice actors in this film include Killian Murphy, the recent Academy Award winner, Raffi Cassidy, Sally Hawkins, and Ken Watanabe, amongst other people. So, Kansuke's Kingdom looks to be a very well animated film, and I'm very curious to see it. It certainly made its rounds on the independent circuit, but I can't guarantee that I'm going to be seeing this film, but I will look out for it. [Music] Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken word show dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host of movie critic Dan Burke, and now that I've reviewed the movie, or rather given you a spoken word preview of the movies that are subject to be released in theaters for the week of October 14th through October 18th, I'll get to as many films that are subject to be released on streaming as I can. So on Netflix, which is the platform where there are the most movies that are being released on the platform, particularly movies that are brand new, there are a number of films that are coming out the week of October 14th through October 18th, 2024. One of the movies that's coming out, I lost my place, hang on. That is coming out on Tuesday, October 15th, is a movie that's called Abandoned, and this sounds particularly like a drama, and abandoned is, well, the only instance that I can find about abandoned is that it's a film that came out in 2022, but one that I haven't seen, even though I was hosting the show in 2022, and the movie stars Emma Roberts and Michael Shannon and John Gallagher Jr., and it's about a young couple who moves into a remote farm house with their infant son, and the woman struggles with postpartum psychosis, the woman struggles begin to intensify as the house reveals secrets of its own. So it sounds like a haunted house movie, although it looks to be a lot more serious than just a spooky haunted house movie, but this is a movie that's a little too old for me to review, but if I do see it, I may let you know what I think because this is one of those films that went under my radar, but on Wednesday, October 16th, there are a few movies that are Netflix originals that are going to be premiering. One of them is a movie that's called Justice that takes place in the early 1990s and is about a discharge police officer played by Olaf Lubaskzenko, who is given a chance to reclaim his former life in exchange for capture, capturing a group responsible for an attack on a bank. And when a young police woman assigned to the case, the detective must act quickly in order to avoid media attention. So this is a movie that was filmed in Poland, I believe, and it's one of those foreign films that Netflix keeps releasing. I'm not complaining exactly. What I'm complaining about is that I don't have enough information to give you about this film yet. But I'll tell you that if I see it, I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that has suddenly been released on Wednesday, October 16th is a movie that's called Sweet Bobby, My Catfish Nightmare, which is a documentary and the fact that it is a catfish nightmare probably gives you an idea of exactly what the film is about. So I don't think I need to give you an explanation, but man, I got to also say that some of these names with the exception of the one that I just mentioned are very basic and it takes me a while to look up some of the titles and give you a brief synopsis of some of them. But I will do my best as I progress down the list. For example, on Thursday, October 17th, there are two Netflix original films that will be released on the platform. The first one is called Outside. This movie, there are a ton of movies that are coming out with outside in their title, but fortunately I was able to find the exact title I was looking for. This is another foreign film that's directed and written by Carlo Ledesma, and it's about a family trying to outrun the zombie outbreak by returning to the father's childhood farmhouse, mortifying it to keep it out of the dead ones. Alas, there is just as much horror and trauma at the ancestral home as there is outside the gates. So this is an original Netflix film and it kind of sounds like one of your typical episodes of The Walking Dead, particularly in the second season. But it still sounds intriguing and it may be a film that I will see, but I'll let you know what I think on a future show. And another film that is subject to be released in theaters on October 17th is a movie that's titled The Shadow Strays, which also sounds like a horror film. And this computer is giving me some grief here as I'm trying to look this title up, but I finally got it, and this is a film about codename 13, a 70 year old assassin who is suspended due to a sloppy mission in Japan. She meets 11 year old Manji who loses his mother and sets out to rescue him. This is another film that I believe is Asian, I don't know what nationality though. I don't think it's a film that's out of Japan, because the director and writer of the film is Timo Tajanto, which does not sound like a Japanese name. And the stars of the film include Aurora Ribeiro, Hana, Malasan, and Taskia Namya. And it's one of those instances where I wish I could tell you what films they were also in, but I honestly don't know. But there's a number of films that will be Netflix originals that will be released on a platform on Friday, October 18th, one is one called The Man Who Loved UFOs. And this film is also a foreign film, and it takes place in Argentina in 1996. And this is not a documentary, but it is a dramatized biography about journalist Jose Desaire and his cameraman who traveled to Cordoba after an odd proposal. At a burnt patch in the hills, they depict an alleged alien presence for their news show through increasingly bizarre staged scenes. So the movie is not only a biography, but it's also a comedy drama. And the movie is directed by Diego Laramond and stars Daniel Arreos, Monica Eos, and Ava Bianco, amongst other people. And then this movie certainly sounds very quirky, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that I will see it, but I'll keep an eye out for it and I may let you know what I think on a future show. That just about does it for this episode of Words on Film. Words on Film is the spoken words show dedicated to moving pictures, and I am your host of movie critic Dan Burke, reminding you that the views and opinions expressed on Words on Film about movies or other topics are solely those of your host of movie critic Dan Burke. They not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of any employees or volunteers who are working at WBCA or the station as a whole. Until I watch a whole bunch of brand new movies, this is Dan Burke saying I'll see you at the movies. Bye! for now! for now! [BLANK_AUDIO]