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It’s the mid 90’s and thirteen year old Stevie (Sunny Suljic) and his older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges) are the children of Dabney (Katherine Waterson), a single mother doing her best to raise her boys in Los Angeles. Absent of a father figure Stevie falls in with a rough crowd of skaters (Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, and Ryder McLaughlin), bonding over skateboards, booze, girls, and general miscreant behavior; navigating his young adulthood is likely to be messy. Written and Directed by Jonah Hill and shot in a stylized 4:3 frame (just like TV was in the 90s) this snapshot of a period sets the pace, time, and place but fails in its creation of a traditional story arc; rather it’s Hill’s prerogative to create a more esoteric arc, a series of smaller lessons, exploring the learning of who or what is really important during the formative years, to that end the film is interesting but may come across as a bit challenging for those looking for more of a traditional “story.” The real gems of this picture are those in the ensemble, well played all. Thumbs up to the sound design as well, the louder the punches, the meatier it gets. And, bonus to Hill, only one gratuitous shot including neon super soakers to establish time was used in the making of this film. Mid90s is rated R.

When a cyber-attack exposes the identity of all of MI6’s undercover agents Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is brought out of retirement to track down a mastermind hacker, aided by his old agency friend, Bough (Ben Miller), the race is on to prevent a takeover of the free world, that is unless the mysterious Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko) doesn’t stop him first. Written by William Davies and Directed by David Kerr this carrier virus for Atkinson’s unique physical humor and comedic abilities doesn’t exactly push the envelope of cinema or nutty spy hi-jinks; but, for fans of the Bean-esque tropes and tom foolery this breezy 88 minute trip across the pond will satisfy the most basic needs. It’s simple, harmless, escapism with a few extra guffaws, mission accomplished. Entertainment dollar-wise, you’re looking at more of a matinee value, maybe less if you can wait it out for rental later, so it goes. Johnny English Strikes Again is rated PG.

It’s been decades since Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle) reign of terror on Halloween nearly took the life of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Now, 40 years later to the day, he’s back to terrorize the residents of Haddonfield; but, in Michael’s absence, Laurie has been plotting a revenge of her own to protect her Daughter and Granddaughter (Judy Greer, Andi Matichak). Will her preparations be enough to stop this breed of pure evil? Directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley, this true to original form and intent reincarnation of the Halloween franchise is packed with heavy doses of its creators DNA, paying love and homage to the first few sequels (A.K.A. The Debra Hill and John Carpenter era) and dismissing the latter 36 years of mediocrity, this is a good thing. The film follows the basic and traditional rules of horror and suspense to make for a squirm in your seat good time, especially for those with a passion for schadenfreude and those who view film as a lens or mirror to reflect our current social culture, oh, this can’t end well. On the whole, the ensemble hits the tone just right and Lee Curtis finishes strong to bring this monster into the barn, so to speak. And, while the splatter level to the film isn’t the highest per-se, it’s also not entirely necessary to drive its point. You’re in for a dark ride of nostalgia and stabbyness in a traditionally compact hour and forty five minute run time. You know you want to….. Halloween is rated R.