Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025) | REVIEW

Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones (in the middle) in BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY — PHOTO: Universal Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Michael Morris — Screenplay by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, and Abi Morgan.

Based on the Helen Fielding novel of the same name and, obviously named after the iconic song, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy finds Bridget Jones (still played by Renée Zellweger) at a particularly challenging moment in her life. Her husband, Mark Darcy (played by Colin Firth), has passed away, and she and their two children now struggle with grief in their own ways. At the same time, though, so many people around her are suggesting that Bridget should get back out there and date again. Back on the market, she develops a surprising romantic connection with a much younger man (played by Leo Woodall), while she also gradually grows closer to a schoolteacher (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor).

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Heretic (2024) | REVIEW

Hugh Grant in Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ HERETIC — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65) — Screenplay by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place; The Boogeyman).

Though not their directorial debut, writing-directing duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods had their mainstream, big studio debut as directors with last year’s Adam Driver-led sci-fi flick titled 65, which, despite having a great trailer, was a relatively disappointing and unremarkable film. This was a disappointment because, in recent years, the duo had proven themselves to be effective genre film writers with their awards-nominated A Quiet Place screenplay. With their latest film, Heretic, they’ve crafted a psychological horror film that proves their talents and that what they had done a couple of years earlier was by no means an accident or a fluke. This one is terrific.  

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REVIEW: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

(L-R) Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chris Pine, and Michelle Rodriguez in DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures.

Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Game Night) — Screenplay/Story by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Michael Gilio, and Chris McKay.

It was only a matter of time before Hollywood was going to give Dungeons and Dragons another try as a major motion picture given the massive success of Stranger Things, which, I feel, has helped to popularize the tabletop role-playing game yet again. That’s right, I do remember watching the woeful 2000s Courtney Solomon film Dungeons and Dragons a couple of times way back when (it’s crazy to think that The Fellowship of the Ring was released only a single year later). The 2000s D&D film is as bad as its reputation would have you believe, but it does have Jeremy Irons and Marlon Wayans, so I guess that’s something. The difference between the film from 2000 and this year’s Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein is night and day. Honor Among Thieves genuinely is a great time at the movies. 

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REVIEW: The Gentlemen (2020)

Theatrical Release Poster — STX Films

The following is a review of The Gentlemen — Directed by Guy Ritchie.

If you look at Guy Ritchie’s films from the 2010s, you will see a mixed bag of sequels, spin-offs, remakes, and potential franchise-starters that were made with either Warner Bros. or Disney. His 2011 Sherlock Holmes sequel, A Game of Shadows, received mixed-to-positive reviews and was a financial success. Though I actually really enjoyed it, his film adaptation of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was described by industry experts as a box office flop, and his woeful fantasy epic King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was even more of disappointment as it was critically panned and reportedly lost its studios more than $150 million. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Gentlemen (2020)”

REVIEW: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Florence Foster Jenkins – Directed by Stephen Frears.

Florence Foster Jenkins tells the true story of the American socialite who, in the 1940s, dreamed of becoming an opera singer who could perform at the greatest concert venues in the world. Unfortunately, Foster Jenkins (played by Meryl Streep) didn’t have a good singing voice, but her husband and manager, St. Clair Bayfield (played by Hugh Grant), loved her too much to tell her. Continue reading “REVIEW: Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)”