Marcus Jones

August 12, 2022 - Finally, interesting films are returning to the big screen. Action-packed, well-acted, and high drama in a compact package. Aubrey Plaza is a top-notch actress who isn't afraid to dangle on the edge. I hope to be seeing more of her in strong projects like this for years to come.

August 12, 2022 - Surprise ending in this one which keeps you thinking from start to finish. Everyone in the cast is great, even Ashton Kutcher. And, for me, that's saying something. Lots of inside jokes about Texas done tastefully and with love which also add flavor.

July 28, 2022 - Last night, I engaged in one of my favorite pastimes. I went to see a movie - in a theater - where there should be a lot of people but there still aren't as many people there as there used to be - and I saw a gem. Probably the sweetest, kindest and, debatably, the most sentimentally provocative film that will be released this year. It was "Marcel The Shell With Shoes On." As good movies should do, it touched me. It moved me. And, it prompts me to encourage others to see it as well.

October 24, 2022 - Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is in Hollywood's rear view mirror, they appear to be in a race to release every interesting film they held back for the last two years, right now, before the new year begins. Films such as the one I saw today, "Triangle of Sadness." The trailer undersells what is a re-imagined version of "The Lord of the Flies" featuring adults instead of children and is jam-packed with delicious twists and irony which drag you along to the very last scene.

November 3, 2022 - An abject lesson in how not to end a friendship...strong, compelling performances all around...beautiful cinematography of the Irish landscape...it keeps you wishing for a better outcome until the bitter end.

November 3, 2022 - Disappointingly pedestrian and uninspired...an unfortunate misuse of the acting talents of Anthony Hopkins and Anne Hathaway, who are the only bright spots in this well-intended but flawed film work.

February 1, 2023 - NFL Quarterback Tom Brady officially retires. On this auspicious day in sports history, I went to see the movie "80 for Brady." Of course, I didn't have high hopes for this cinematic love letter to the NFL's winningest quarterback but I liked the cast and I like comedies (and, yes, I'm a homer). Anyway, believe it or not, the first surprising twist for me was how much of the soundtrack was throwback funk, soul and dance music from the 1970s and 80s. You New Yorkers know "Bra" by Cymande by heart as one of the go-to club cuts of that era. Yep, they were playing that and I think I heard Rufus Thomas singing "Push and Pull" at one point early on, as well. Somehow, they make 85-year-old Jane Fonda look like she's in her 50s throughout most of the film and she seems just as spry as she was when she was producing workout videos 40 years ago. Glynn Turman has a small supporting role as a widower who fancies Rita Moreno and there are other cute and amusing asides which move this production - based on 5, now 4, elderly Brady fans - along. The real women, in their mid-90s now, never actually went to the Super Bowl but they did watch Brady throughout his career and they even survived that heart-stopping comeback against the Falcons in 2017 - the game which this film highlights. Old folks having fun, sharing sentimental moments, and loving a kid's game that grown men get paid to play - how can you beat that? At the preview I saw this evening in Springfield, Virginia, a group of middle-aged women came in together and settled in and hooped and hollered and cheered and cried as frame by frame rolled out onto the big screen. They were marvelous company. True, sports can create rivalries which tear people apart but they can also bring homers - no matter where you are - together.