The central characters in Thomas Vinterberg’s 2020 film “Another Round” are middle-aged men—teachers—who feel their lives are stagnating. The film captures the quiet despair of routine, lost purpose, and emotional disconnection. Their experiment with low-level alcohol consumption (inspired by the theory that humans are born with a 0.05% blood alcohol deficit) becomes a way to reawaken joy, confidence, and vitality. Mads Mikkelsen is excellent as are his co-stars.

Alcohol is both the literal subject and a metaphor. It unlocks spontaneity…

Robert Zemeckis’ 2024 movie entitled “Here” could be one of the worst movies ever made. A sad sack melodrama of joyless people, perpetual victims, who possess no agency in their own lives trapped in a single room akin to a prison. You could make the case that the film is about the prison of the “American dream”and the distortions and lies required to believe it actually exists. There’s an underlying suggestion in the movie that the house they live in…

Hmmm...okay. First off I suppose I should confess that I've never ben a big fan of musical theatre or the Wizard of Oz. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are incredible singers and solid actors. They both have a lot of charisma on screen. Without them this film would be straight up bad.

The translation of the musical to the big screen is a bold effort, but there's something that feels flat in the world building and the overall visual design.…