A Merry Little Ex-Mas A MERRY LITTLE EX-MAS (2025) Starring Alicia Silverstone, Oliver Hudson, Jameela Jamil, Pierson Fodé, Linda Kash, Melissa Joan Hart, Timothy Innes, Emily Hall and Wilder Hudson. Screenplay by Holly Hester. Directed by Steve Carr. Distributed by Netflix. 91 minutes. Not Rated. Who would think that this is at least the fourth cheesy holiday movie in recent years to shoehorn the awkward pun “ex-mas” into its title? It’s like – hey, we mixed “ex” and “Xmas.”

Frankenstein FRANKENSTEIN (2025) Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Charles Dance, Lauren Collins, Sofia Galasso, Ralph Ineson, Burn Gorman, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Kyle Gatehouse, Joachim Fjelstrup, Peter Millard, Peter Mcneill, Sean Sullivan, Stuart Hughes, Gord Rand, Kenton Craig, Val Ovtcharov and Anders Yates. Screenplay by  Guillermo del Toro. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Distributed by Netflix. 150

Nuremberg NUREMBERG (2025) Starring Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O'Brien, Colin Hanks, Wrenn Schmidt, Lydia Peckham, Richard E. Grant, Michael Shannon, Lotte Verbeek, Andreas Pietschmann, Steven Pacey, Paul Antony-Barber, Jeremy Wheeler, Wolfgang Cerny, Dan Cade, Donald Sage Mackay, Dieter Riesle, Wayne Brett, Mesterházy Gyula and Sam Newman. Screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Directed by James Vanderbilt. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. 148

Lost and Found in Cleveland LOST AND FOUND IN CLEVELAND (2024) Starring Martin Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, June Squibb, Stacy Keach, Yvette Yates Redick, Santino Fontana, Dot-Marie Jones, Loretta Devine, Liza Weil, Esther Povitsky, Rory O'Malley, Jeff Hiller, Jon Lovitz, Mark L. Walberg, Benjamin Steinhauser, Rob Mayes, Vanessa Burghardt, Bryant Carroll, Bryan Coffee and Stephon Fuller. Screenplay by  Marisa Guterman & Keith Gerchak. Directed by Marisa Guterman & Keith Gerchak. D

John Davidson From Prime-Time to Club Sandwich – The Reinvention of a Variety Icon By Ronald Sklar For decades, John Davidson was all that and a jar of Miracle Whip – a Broadway lead, a smiling television host, and one of Johnny Carson’s most trusted guest substitutes. Today, at 84, he has reinvented his career far from Hollywood, performing in a charming converted barn in rural New Hampshire. His self-created venue, the aptly named Club Sandwich, is everything Davidson has

Bugonia BUGONIA (2025) Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone, J. Carmen Galindez Barrera, Marc T. Lewis, Vanessa Eng, Cedric Dumornay, Charita 'Momma Cherri' Jones, Fredricka Whitfield, Rafael Lopez Bravo, Yaisa, Teneisha Ellis, Roger Carvalho, Atsushi Nishijima, Janlyn Mallis Bales, Andy Blackburn, Stella Bizirtsaki and Diana Duah. Screenplay by Will Tracy. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Distributed by Focus Features. 118 minute

Jay McCarrol and Matt Johnson at the Philadelphia Film Festival showing of "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie." Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie the Interview By Jay S. Jacobs It’s a tale as old as time. Two guys start a band. They are enthusiastic about the project and sure that stardom lurks ahead. They even set a goal of their ideal venue – the storied Toronto rock club The Rivoli.   Unfortunately, they are a little naïve in the ways of

Primate PRIMATE (2025) Starring Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, Charlie Mann, Tienne Simon, Miguel Torres Umba, Kae Alexander, Amina Abdi, Albert Magashi, Kevin McNally, Stuart Whelan, Amina Abdi and Kieran Deane. Screenplay by  Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera. Directed by Johannes Roberts. Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 89 minutes. Rated R. Screened at the 2025 Philadelphia Film Festival. If you ever thought

Blue Moon BLUE MOON (2025) Starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Scott, Jonah Lees, Rifkin Simon Delaney, Cillian Sullivan, Patrick Kennedy, John Doran, Anne Brogan,   Giles Surridge, Brian Briggs, Caitríona Ennis, Elaine O'Dwyer, Aisling O'Mara, David Rawle, Ray Weafer, Ian Dillon and Daniel Mick Ryan. Screenplay by Robert Kaplow. Directed by Richard Linklater. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. 100 minutes. Rated R. Screened at the 2025 Philade

Case 137 (Dossier 137) CASE 137 (DOSSIER 137) (2025) Starring Léa Drucker, Jonathan Turnbull, Mathilde Roehrich, Guslagie Malanda, Stanislas Merhar, Sandra Colombo, Valentin Campagne, Mathilde Riu, Côme Péronnet, Solàn Machado-Graner, Théo Costa-Marini, Théo Navarro-Mussy and Florence Viala. Screenplay by Dominik Moll and Gilles Marchand. Directed by Dominik Moll. Distributed by Haut et Court. 115 minutes. Not Rated. Screened at the 2025 Philadelphia Film Festival. It is kind

Hedda HEDDA (2025) Starring Tessa Thompson, Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nicholas Pinnock, Nina Hoss, Kathryn Hunter, Finbar Lynch, Mirren Mack, Jamael Westman, Saffron Hocking, Finbar Lynch, Mirren Mack, Jamael Westman, Jack Barry, Michelle Crane, Sam Hoare, Stacey Gough, Mark Oosterveen, Sonya Orlov, Nicholas Bishop, Milly Paris and Jack Sherlock. Screenplay by  Nia DaCosta. Directed by Nia DaCosta. Distributed by Amazon MGM Studios. 107 minutes. Rated R. Screened at the 2025

Köln 75 KÖLN 75 (2025) Starring Mala Emde, John Magaro, Michael Chernus, Alexander Scheer, Susanne Wolff, Ulrich Tukur, Jördis Triebel, Marie-Lou Sellem, Mala Emde, Enno Trebs, Shirin Lilly Eissa, Daniel Betts, Ilse Brandes, Leo Meier, Leon Blohm, Moritz Heidelbach, Michael del Coco, Gisela Walter, Uwe Preuss, Lea Draeger, Tobias Lange, Ana-Marija Markovina and Alexander Scheer. Screenplay by Ido Fluk. Directed by Ido Fluk. Distributed by Zeitgeist Films. 113 minutes. Not Rat

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU (2025) Starring Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Christian Slater, ASAP Rocky, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri, Delaney Quinn, Ronald Bronstein, Lark White, Josh Pais, Eva Kornet, Mark Stolzenberg, Helen Hong, Ella Beatty, Manu Narayan, Amy Judd Lieberman, Char Sidney, Jodi Pynn Gabree, Alan Scott, Jason Matthews and Victor Broadley. Screenplay by Mary Bronstein. Directed by Mary Bronstein. Distributed by A24. 113

Ian Kimble and Ruby Modine at the Philadelphia Film Festival Premiere of "Dead Giveaway." Ruby Modine & Ian Kimble It’s Just a Dead Giveaway by Jay S. Jacobs Don’t you hate it when this happens? You’re out on a Friday night. You hit a few bars, and maybe a party. You have a bit too much to drink. Or maybe a lot too much to drink. Or maybe you literally recreate Marion Ravenwood’s shots-drinking contest scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  You wake up the next morning, still ful

Floating Carousel FLOATING CAROUSEL (2025) Starring Lucy Powers, Delilah Napier, Gus Birney, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jessica Hecht, Dylan Baker, Julian Cihi, Reg Rogers, Elsie Hewitt, Geneva Carr, Catherine Curtin, Jon Rudnitsky, Matt Walker, Brittany Bradford, Sean Grandillo, Ruby McCollister, Sam Vartholomeos, Aaron Serotsky, Charles Justo, Nate Richman, Caroline Baniewicz and Joe Penczak. Screenplay by Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers. Directed by Delilah Napier and Lucy Po

Good Fortune GOOD FORTUNE (2025) Starring Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, Sherry Cola,  Joe Mande, Stephen McKinley Henderson,   Blanca Araceli, Aditya Geddada, Alexander Jo, Kristen Henley, Shoukath Ansari, Erik Estrada, Wil Sylvince, Michael Arnold, Cam Barr, Addie Weyrich, Cari Shayne, Nena Woolworth, Nate Jackson, Jesus Garcia and Penny Johnson Jerald. Screenplay by Aziz Ansari. Directed by Aziz Ansari. Distributed by Lionsgate. 94 minutes.

Delilah Napier and Lucy Powers Lucy Powers & Delilah Napier   Riding the Floating Carousel By Jay S. Jacobs It all started with some bad dates. Lucy Powers and Delilah Napier, long-time friends and collaborators who have made the indie films Voyeur, “The Compound” and “ Victor vs. the Metaverse” together, found the inspiration for their latest feature film when they both went on the same bad date with the same guy, just a week apart. They weren’t alone. All of their friends w

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 (2025) Starring Keira Knightley, Guy Pearce, David Ajala, Art Malik, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Hannah Waddingham, David Morrissey, Gitte Witt, Christopher Rygh, Pippa Bennett-Warner, John Macmillan, Paul Kaye, Amanda Collin, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Charles Craddock, Ayò Owóyemi-Peters, Síofra Ní Éilí, Holly Godliman and Kasper Hilton-Hille. Screenplay by Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse and Simon Stone. Directed by Simon Stone. Distributed

[L-R] Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez and Tonatiuh attend the KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN New York premiere. Credit: Jason Crowley/BFA Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, Tonatiuh & Bill Condon Dancing With the Spider Woman By Jay S. Jacobs When Hollywood is adapting a hit Broadway musical (or making an original), chances are the first name on their speed dial is Bill Condon. Condon wrote and/or directed such popular movie musicals as Chicago, DreamGirls , the live-action version of Beauty

AFTER THE HUNT (2025) Starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, Chloë Sevigny, Lío Mehiel, Ariyan Kassam,...