Americana

2025 Lionsgate

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 47min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller ~ Neo-Western

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Eric Dane, Zahn McClarnon and Simon Rex.

Welcome To The New West

Cal Starr (Luke David Blumm) is a young boy in small-town South Dakota, deeply obsessed with Native American culture and convinced he’s the reincarnation of Sitting Bull. His older sister, Mandy (Halsey), is trapped in a toxic relationship with the abusive Dillon MacIntosh (Eric Dane). When Dillon steals a priceless Lakota ghost shirt and stashes it at home, Mandy sees an opportunity to escape her circumstances. After a violent confrontation, Mandy attacks Dillon with a hammer and attempts to flee with both Cal and the artifact, only to have Cal refuse, determined to fulfill what he sees as his spiritual destiny.

In the days leading up to this moment, down-on-his-luck veteran Lefty Ledbetter (Paul Walter Hauser) befriends shy waitress Penny Jo Poplin (Sydney Sweeney), who dreams of country music stardom. Their lives entwine when Penny finds a mysterious note about a high-stakes deal involving the valuable ghost shirt. The item is at the center of a tangled plot involving Dillon, his partner Fun Dave, and shady antiques dealer Roy Lee Dean (Simon Rex), who traffics in stolen Native artifacts. The shirt’s theft sets off a violent chain reaction as several parties, including Lefty and Penny, race to find it first, drawn inexorably into the Starr family’s dark world of criminality and cult-like control.

As Mandy brings the ghost shirt back to her family’s compound, ruled by her sadistic father Hiram, the scene explodes into chaos. Lefty is captured trying to rescue Penny, who becomes caught between factions. When a Native American radical group led by Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon) descends on the compound to reclaim their sacred artifact, a fierce standoff erupts into a western style shootout.

In Americana the Lakota ghost shirt is more than just a rare artifact, it is a living symbol of spiritual hope and cultural identity. Rooted in the Ghost Dance religion of the late 19th century, ghost shirts were believed to carry sacred protective powers, shielding the wearer from bullets and harm during violent confrontations. This belief stemmed from the desperate need among Native American tribes like the Lakota to find strength and protection amid brutal oppression and the threat of cultural extinction. The shirts themselves were traditionally decorated with powerful symbols drawn from nature and the cosmos, such as eagles, stars, and the sacred pipe, each holding deep spiritual meaning.

The film weaves this symbolism into the narrative, making the ghost shirt a powerful but contested icon. Its value extends beyond monetary worth to embody the enduring resilience, spiritual connection, and identity of the Lakota people. Throughout the story, the artifact’s journey serves as a metaphor for struggles over cultural survival and restitution, highlighting how such relics carry the hopes of entire communities and the scars of historical injustice. The tension over the ghost shirt represents both personal desperation and a wider fight to preserve indigenous heritage in a world often indifferent to it.

Americana explores the lives intersecting around this sacred object. Sydney Sweeney portrays Penny Jo Poplin with a mix of vulnerability and determination, capturing the essence of a shy waitress chasing big dreams amid chaos. Paul Walter Hauser’s turn as the lovelorn veteran Lefty brings a touch of awkward humanity and warmth to the gritty narrative. Halsey impresses as Mandy, a desperate woman running from a dark past, delivering a raw and compelling intensity. Eric Dane’s ruthless, menacing portrayal of Dillon MacIntosh adds the edge to the film’s tension. The supporting cast, including Zahn McClarnon and Simon Rex, bring vibrant layers to this modern Western ensemble, helping to ground the film’s complex interwoven stories in this gritty, modern Western Crime Thriller.

Jurassic World Rebirth

2025 Universal Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 13min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Sci-Fi ~ Thriller

Directed by: David Koepp

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono and Ed Skrein.

A New Era Is Born

Five years after dinosaurs overran the planet, most species are dying out, except for those surviving on a remote equatorial island where only the toughest creatures remain. Covert ops expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) leads a dangerous mission, funded by a big pharmaceutical company, to collect rare dinosaur DNA in hopes of making a life-saving medicine. Zora assembles a skilled team, including her old friend and right-hand man Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), skeptical paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and confrontational company rep Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend). Their arrival sparks tension as each brings their own secrets and agendas to the table.

Trouble finds them quickly when a civilian family, the Delgados (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono and Audrina Miranda), become stranded on the island after their boat falls victim to a massive aquatic dinosaur. With the jungle full of both classic predators and wild new hybrid dinosaurs, Zora’s crew and the family are forced into uneasy cooperation—and constant danger. Along the way, young Isabella (Audrina Miranda) forms an unexpected bond with a small herbivore, who becomes a timely ally during tense moments.

The team’s mission pushes them through a gauntlet of close encounters extracting DNA from three different giants, a marine Mosasaurus, a towering Titanosaurus, and a flying Quetzalcoatlus, where not everyone makes it out unscathed. Meanwhile, old secrets and betrayals surface, leading to distrust when Martin’s true motives come under suspicion and a traitor’s actions put the group at risk. Survival means navigating both the deadly prehistoric wildlife and the hidden agendas within their own ranks.

As conditions worsen on the island and dinosaurs begin to mutate, both Zora’s crew and the Delgados race toward the island’s abandoned InGen lab, hoping for rescue. Along the way, they’re stalked by a monstrous new hybrid called the D. rex and threatened by dangerous showdowns between the island’s top predators. Trust is in short supply, with double-crosses and desperate alliances shaping every step of their journey as they battle nature, and each other, in hopes of getting back home alive.

Given the history and the success of previous Jurassic movies, and the star power of Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali, I expected more from Jurassic World Rebirth. It fell way short of my expectations quickly. Kudos to Scarlett, Mahershala and the rest of the actors for trying, but this was just too unbelievable, even the dinosaurs themselves were a disappointment. Some of the scenes and situations were just plain silly, there is no way that looked real. I think it was an attempt at humor but it sure didn’t come off that way. Predictable, boring and completely unbelievable……

To be fair I don’t think I have seen any of the Jurassic movies past the second or MAYBE the third Jurassic Park movie. At that time I was like, “Nah, If you’ve seen one Jurassic Movie…you’ve seen them all.” That pretty sums up Jurassic World Rebirth for me, should have been called Jurassic World Regurgitated………..

King Richard

2021 Warner Bros. Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 24min

Biography ~ Drama ~ Sports ~ True Story

Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal.

Venus, Serena and a plan for greatness.

King Richard tells the inspiring true story of Richard Williams (Will Smith), a determined father living in Compton, California, who dreams of making his daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) tennis superstars. Richard has a detailed 78-page plan for their success he wrote before they were born. He and his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), who works as a nurse, coach the girls tirelessly while juggling their full-time jobs. Richard works hard to find a professional coach for them, facing numerous rejections from the tennis community skeptical of the family’s background and financial situation.

Eventually, Richard finds coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), who agrees to train Venus but not Serena due to costs. As Venus begins to compete and succeed in junior tournaments, Serena secretly enters as well and also impresses. The family faces racism and exclusion in the predominantly white, upper-class sport. When offers from agents come in, Richard fears exploitation and pulls the girls out of the junior circuit, leading to tension with the coach and others who see this as risking their chances of turning pro.

Coach Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) later takes the family under his wing, leading them to move to Florida for better training opportunities. Richard insists the girls focus on school and training, avoiding early exposure to the pressures of junior competition. Venus expresses her desire to turn pro, causing some family conflict, but Richard eventually supports her. Despite initial struggles, Venus achieves wins in pro matches and attracts attention from major sponsors, with Serena following close behind.

Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) revolutionized women’s tennis and had an enormous impact on the sports world at large. Their achievements include a combined 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, three Olympic golds together, and a legacy as one of tennis’s most dominant sibling duos. Venus reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2002, becoming the first Black player to do so, while Serena has held the No. 1 spot for a record 319 weeks, one of the longest reigns in history.

Serena boasts 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era, and Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles crowns, including five Wimbledons. Their fierce rivalry and partnership broke racial and gender barriers, inspiring countless athletes and transforming the visibility and commercial appeal of women’s tennis globally. Their success symbolizes empowerment, resilience, and excellence, forever altering perceptions of Black women in sport and elevating women’s sports to new heights of public attention and respect.

This is truly an amazing story and movie well acted by Will Smith and the rest of the cast. I have to say that I have had the opportunity to watch this in the past but bypassed it because of the infamous Oscar Slap. I was on my own little Will Smith boycott even though this movie came out before the infamous Oscar affair. When I saw it had just come back to Netflix I decided to give it a watch because of the True Story and Underdog aspect. Those are two of my favorites, the True Stories and The Underdogs who, seemingly against all odds, emerge victorious and come out on top.

Richard had a 78 page plan he wrote out for his two daughters before they were born, detailing every aspect of their lives. How they were going to achieve greatness as tennis players, how they were going to conduct themselves as human beings and he never let doubt or their seemingly insurmountable obstacles of environment, race and gender sway their belief for a second. Even when he battled the violence of the local gangs that threatened his life. Even when everybody told him it couldn’t be done.

Richard Williams, through sheer perseverance, unwavering belief and steadfast determination, raised his daughters to be successful sports prodigies that succeeded beyond anybody’s wildest imaginations, (But Richard’s) and changed the course of Women’s Sports and the world of Tennis forever. It is a testament to the Human spirit and a Prime example of believing in your dreams and willing them into fruition. This is a good one and you should watch it even if, like me, you were on your own Will Smith Boycott.

I saw a video where he was promoting this movie and talked about how he doesn’t make movies anymore to make money. His only objective is to make movies that help and inspire other human beings in some way, it was the reason he made this movie. I personally feel like that is such a wonderful and admirable way of giving back after all his success. After watching this movie and learning that about Will Smith, I have decided to put aside my temporary boycott due to the Oscars fiasco. We all have our moments that we are not proud of, where life forced us to be shown at our worst. Time to let go, live and let live.

Do yourself an inspirational favor and watch this movie, and remember the Will Smith who makes movies like these to inspire and lift us all up………..

The Alto Knights Coming To Amazon Prime Friday November 7, 2025

From Warner Bros. Pictures, “The Alto Knights” stars Academy Award winner Robert De Niro in a dual role, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson.

The film follows two of New York’s most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello (De Niro) and Vito Genovese (De Niro), as they vie for control of the city’s streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.

“The Alto Knights” was written by Oscar nominee Nicholas Pileggi (“Goodfellas”) and produced by Oscar winner Irwin Winkler (“Rocky,” “Goodfellas”), Levinson, Jason Sosnoff, Charles Winkler and David Winkler, with Mike Drake executive producing.

De Niro stars alongside Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”), Cosmo Jarvis (“Shōgun”), Kathrine Narducci (“The Irishman”), Michael Rispoli (“Billions”), Michael Adler (“Peppermint”), Ed Amatrudo (“Till,” “Nashville”), Joe Bacino (“Kick-Ass”), Anthony J. Gallo (“The Irishman”), Wallace Langham (“Ford v Ferrari”), Louis Mustillo (“Cooper’s Bar,” “Mike & Molly”), Frank Piccirillo, Matt Servitto (“Billions”) and Robert Uricola (“Raging Bull”).

Joining Levinson (“Rainman,” “Dopesick”) behind the camera are Oscar-nominated director of photography Dante Spinotti (“The Insider,” “L.A. Confidential”), production designer Neil Spisak (the “Spider-Man” films, “Dopesick”), Oscar-nominated editor Douglas Crise (“Babel,” “Dopesick”), Oscar-nominated costume designer Jeffrey Kurland (“Bullets Over Broadway,” “Tenet”), award-winning casting director Ellen Chenoweth (“Past Lives”) and composer David Fleming (“Hillbilly Elegy,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”).

The Alto Knights streams on Amazon Prime Friday November 7, 2025.

New Movie Frankenstein Debuts On Netflix Friday November 7, 2025

Netflix Debuts Frankenstein Friday November 7, 2025.

FROM NETFLIX TUDUM:

In Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein — inspired by Mary Shelley’s seminal 1818 novel of the same name — tortured genius Victor Frankenstein (Golden Globe-winner Oscar Isaac) views his creation (played by BAFTA-nominee Jacob Elordi) as a monstrous experiment. But, for the movie’s director and writer, Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro, the Creature, as Frankenstein’s monster is known, is something much more holy — he’s his “patron saint.” Del Toro has been entranced by the Creature since his childhood in Mexico.

“I’ve lived with Mary Shelley’s creation all my life,” Del Toro tells Tudum. “For me, it’s the Bible. But I wanted to make it my own, to sing it back in a different key with a different emotion.”

Now, his vision has been realized. Ahead of its Nov. 7 premiere on Netflix, Frankenstein debuted at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 30. The date also happens to be Shelley’s birthday, which is fittingly called “Frankenstein Day.” To honor the momentous occasion, del Toro is ready to give a peek inside his definitive retelling of Shelley’s classic, his follow-up to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

“Mary Shelley’s masterpiece is rife with questions that burn brightly in my soul: existential, tender, savage, doomed questions that only burn in a young mind and only adults and institutions believe they can answer,” Del Toro explains. “For me, only monsters hold the secrets I long for.”

But, Frankenstein asks, who is the real monster?? The sprawling epic follows Victor, a brilliant, ego-driven scientist, as he embarks on a quest to bring new life into this world. The Creature is the result; his very existence provokes questions about what it means to be a human, a creator, a creature — a father and a son — to crave love and seek understanding. Both Victor and the Creature aim to answer those mysteries and search for meaning in a world that can seem quite mad.

However, the frenzy of humanity isn’t the only feeling Del Toro found in Shelley’s work. “The book has a lot of anxiety — the anxiety that you get when you’re an adolescent, and you don’t understand why everybody lies about the world,” Del Toro says. He aimed to capture that anxiety by translating “the rhythms of Mary Shelley” for the screen. “When English is your second language, you are trained very acutely to the melody and the rhythms of a language,” he continues. “It has a particular rhythm, the dialogue in the book. I tried to make the dialogue be like that without sounding archaic.”

In fact, Del Toro was passionate about maintaining the modernism of Frankenstein in all aspects of the movie, which is set in 19th-century Europe. “When [Shelley] wrote Frankenstein, it was not a period piece. It was a modern book, so I didn’t want you to see a pastel-colored period piece,” he explains. Instead, the director favored swaggering fashions for Victor and styles that are “luscious and full of color.”

Del Toro hopes his Frankenstein stays with viewers as long as the Creature has resided in his own heart. “May monsters inhabit your dreams and give you as much solace as they have given me, for we are all creatures lost and found,” he says.

See Guillermo del Toro’s complete fantasy come to life when Frankenstein arrives on Netflix Nov. 7.