Leo Russo, played by Ray Romano, lives a simple life in Queens, New York, with his wife Angela, played by Laurie Metcalf, their shy but talented son “Sticks,” played by Jacob Ward, and Leo’s close-knit network of Italian-American relatives and neighborhood friends.
Romano directs Somewhere in Queens. Happy enough working at the family construction business alongside his father, played by Tony Lo Bianco, and younger brother, played by Sebastian Maniscalco, Leo lives each week for Sticks’ high-school basketball games, never missing a chance to cheer on his only child as he rules the court as a star athlete.
When the high-school senior gets an incredible and life-changing opportunity to play basketball in college, Leo jumps to provide a plan for his future away from the family construction business.
But when sudden heartbreak threatens to derail Sticks, Leo goes to incredible lengths to keep his son on this ideal path.
Inez De La Paz, played by Teyana Taylor, kidnaps six-year-old Terry, played by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, out of the foster care system. She committed the bold and one last act, convinced it’s a necessary crime on her path to redemption. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their home and their identity. They hope they’ll maintain stability in a rapidly changing New York City.
Inez De La Paz is an orphan, shuffled through New York’s foster care system and nurtured by the streets. She lives a spectrum of emotions, from volatile, impulsive, and unpredictable to deeply caring, determined and fiercely loyal. At her core, she’s a survivor.
The formidable character is the central presence in writer-director A.V. Rockwell’s impressive feature film debut A Thousand to One. The story traces Inez’s struggle as an inner-city woman of color. She navigates the responsibilities of motherhood and wrestles with the secrets of her past. Over two decades, the intimate drama unfolds. Inez attempts to create a better life for herself and six-year-old Terry.
Making the impulsive decision to kidnap the boy from his foster home, Inez flees with him to Harlem. She does whatever she can to build a safe and stable home there. Still, New York City rapidly changes all around them.
Inez and Terry mature and develop. Societal changes affect them in countless ways. Their colorful neighborhood becomes unrecognizable and transforms them into outsiders in the community. They can no longer call it home.
Rockwell grew up in Queens, New York and has sought to speak of the gentrification she witnessed by centering the city close to her heart as part of her identity.
Her observations of mother and son relationships inspired her to shape the screenplay. Through Inez, she wanted to shine a light on women of color. Women faced unimaginable adversity yet persevered, undaunted, and committed to caring for the people they love. Yet society didn’t always see or acknowledge their efforts. “Inez and her experiences were based on a combination of different women who have been in my life,” Rockwell says. “She’s also the type of heroine I wanted to see more of on-screen. I wanted to see a woman of color who lives life on her own terms, no matter what society throws at her.”
Taylor is a superstar R&B performer and choreographer who has rocketed to a global celebrity after working with mega-selling artists, including Beyoncé.
Taylor choreographed the singer’s “Ring the Alarm” video when she was just 15 years old and subsequently directed many of her music videos while continuing to work with other artists. More recently, she branched into acting, appearing in such films as the 2021 comedy Coming 2 America.
Searching for a young actor to play opposite Taylor as six-year-old Terry, the casting director landed on Aaron Kingsley Adetola. He impressed Rockwell with how well Adetola took direction and the subtlety of his creative choices.“I thought Aaron was right because of his physical likeness to what I had in mind,” says the filmmaker. “He’s really smart and intentional when it comes to crafting his performance.” Aven Courtney plays him at age 13, while Josiah Cross plays the character at 17.
Inez De La Paz, played by Teyana Taylor, kidnaps six-year-old Terry, played by Aaron Kingsley Adetola, out of the foster care system. She committed the bold and one last act, convinced it’s a necessary crime on her path to redemption. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their home and their identity. They hope they’ll maintain stability in a rapidly changing New York City.
Sebastian Maniscalco joins forces with legendary Italian-American Robert De Niro in the new comedy About My Father, directed by Laura Terruso.
Robert De Niro as Salvo in About My Father. Photo Credit: Dan Anderson
The film centers on Sebastian, played by Maniscalco. His fiancee, played by Leslie Bibb, encourages him to bring his immigrant hairdresser father, Salvo, played by De Niro, to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family. Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier and David Rasche play her family.
Kim Cattrall as Tigger, Leslie Bibb as Ellie, and David Rasche as Bill in About My Father. Photo Credit: Dan Anderson
The weekend develops into what the studio can only describe as a culture clash, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to discover that the great thing about family is everything about family.
Directed by Jalmari Helander, Sisu takes place during the final desperate days of WWII in northern Finland. A solitary prospector, played by Jorma Tommila, crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat. The Nazis steal his gold and soon discover they have just tangled with no ordinary miner.
I am not sure what these young ladies are about in the movie. They look tough.
There is no direct translation for the Finnish word “Sisu,” but this legendary ex-commando embodies what Sisu means. He’s a white-knuckled form of courage and incredible determination in the face of overwhelming odds.
And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-person death squad goes to outrageous lengths to get his gold back.
He will if it means killing every Nazi in his path.
Produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Matt Ruskin, Boston Strangler stars Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon.
Knightley plays Loretta McLaughlin, a reporter who becomes the first person to connect the series of murders. She breaks the story of the Boston Strangler with Jean Cole. They challenge the sexism of the early 1960s by tirelessly reporting the city’s most notorious serial killer.
Also starring are Chris Cooper and Alessandro Nivola.
Based on a classic fairy tale by the talented Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid (Live-Action Movie) arrives as a live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated film by Disney Studios.
Rob Marshall directs the story that follows Ariel, played by Halle Bailey, a young mermaid who dreams of living on land and going through life as a human.
Ariel makes a bargain with the evil sea witch Ursula, played by Melissa McCarthy, and trades her lovely voice for a chance to live as a human, walking with two feet and legs on land. There is a catch, which makes the story interesting. Ariel must win the love of Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, in three days to make the human transformation permanent.
All is not so easy because Ursula connives to create challenges that even Ariel doesn’t understand. Living on land is new to her, but she adjusts and tries to win Eric’s heart.
The movie has songs from the original animated film and some new ones to keep the redundancy at bay.
Santiago Mitre directs Argentina, 1985, inspired by a true story. The film follows public prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who dared to investigate and prosecute Argentina’s bloodiest military dictatorship in 1985.
Undeterred by the military’s still considerable influence within their fragile new democracy, Strassera and Moreno Ocampo assembled a young legal team of unlikely heroes for their David-vs-Goliath battle.
Under constant threat to themselves and their families, they raced against time to bring justice to the victims of the military junta, a government led by a group of military leaders.
Coming-of-age films are rampant. Having one based on June Bloom’s popular classic book for over fifty years is refreshing. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon, Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, and Benny Safdie as Herb Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
You know you’re in for some honest entertainment. Bloom’s book has affected generations with its timeless coming-of-age story, insightful humor, and candid exploration of life’s biggest questions.
Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, the film follows 11-year-old Margaret, played by Abby Ryder Fortson. Her mother uproots her from her life in New York City to the suburbs of New Jersey.
Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
She goes through puberty’s messy and tumultuous throes with new friends in a new school. She relies on her mother, Barbara, played by Rachel McAdams, who struggles to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia, played by Kathy Bates. Sylvia isn’t happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets.
Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, Amari Price as Janie Loomis, Elle Graham as Nancy Wheeler, and Katherine Kupferer as Gretchen Potter in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.
Putting a movie star in harm’s way is like one storyline in a Nicolas Cage film of late. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the film follows super spy Orson Fortune, played by Jason Statham. He must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds, played Hugh Grant.
Reluctantly teamed with some of the world’s best operatives, played by Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes and Bugzy Malone, Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star Danny Francesco, played by Josh Hartnett, to help them on their globe-trotting undercover mission to save the world.
