John Lithgow has a tendency to nibble on scenery.

Or, in the case of “Cliffhanger,” devour it without mercy. He even admits as such.

Now, at 79, the actor has the perfect marriage of those impulses with “The Rule of Jenny Pen.” It’s a fiercely original tale where he’s joined by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush.

Together, they spin a morbid web of aging, loneliness and creepy hand puppets. “Pen” never works up into a genre lather, but the results are never less than engaging.

Judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush) suffers a massive stroke behind the bench as the story opens.

He’s deposited into a nursing home where workers strain to restore his mobility. Stefan is understandably glum, but his despair goes beyond the stroke’s aftermath.

He appears lonely, for starters. No one visits to brighten his mood. No flowers or cards adorn his bedside. He’s forced to share a room with a fellow patient (George Henare), an indignity he refuses to hide.

Worst of all, another patient haunts his room at night, dancing about with a silly puppet permanently affixed to his hand.

That’s Lithgow’s Dave Crealy, a senior with plenty of life left in his body. He’s a regular at the center, using his “Jenny Pen” puppet to sing songs and interrupt the lives of everyone in the facility.

He’s a first-class bully and no one will stand up to him, not even the center’s staff. And he uses Jenny Pen as his enforcer.

It’s scarier than it sounds.

How can Dave run around unchecked? It’s a question the film doesn’t fully address, although there are hints along the way. That’s more than enough to set this duel in motion.

Rush’s character is wholly convincing, from his arrogant mien to the stroke’s cruel side effects. He’s trapped in his body, unable to fend off Dave’s increasingly violent visits. Rush’s face conveys the depths of his misery and, later, horror.

The screenplay shrewdly lays out enough of Dave’s back story to justify his actions. Stefan’s plight offers a bleak mirror image of Dave’s pain.

One character might learn from the errors of his ways. The other chooses the very worst lessons from his past.

Fascinating.

Tonight at @GlobeCinema see the New Zealand horror THE RULE OF JENNY PEN as part of our Off the CUFF Series! Tickets are available online in advance and at the door.https://t.co/hHRJ3s0g8m pic.twitter.com/KvJgcEppob

— Calgary Underground Film (@CUFF) February 26, 2025

Director James Ashcroft (“Coming Home in the Dark”) uncorks morbid visuals from a stark setting. Jenny Pen becomes a larger-than-life presence, a horror movie tic teased out for maximum impact.

The puppet’s empty eyes are the embodiment of cruelty.

“Jenny Pen” isn’t a quick burn. The story is in no rush to get to the next adrenalized set piece, and the pacing can be problematic, even for a cagey genre yarn.

Lithgow’s performance is near-perfection. He’s older but no less vivid in his ability to create a monstrous figure, one whose devotion to cruelty is a work of brutal art.

The facility appears clean and moderately well run, but there’s a machine-like efficiency which offers another layer of unease. The indignities of aging are never far from the screen.

Two wonderful actors. A story we haven’t seen before. Direction that makes the most of its setting and themes. What’s not to relish about this “Rule?”

HiT or Miss: “The Rule of Jenny Pen” may be the year’s most original horror film, one aided and abetted by two actors at the top of their games.

The post ‘Rule of Jenny Pen’ Lets Screen Icons Shine appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

Underdog stories run in the family.

Director John Avildsen gave us both “The Karate Kid” (1984) and “Rocky” (1976). Now, his son Ash Avildsen brings legendary wrestler Mildred Burke’s life to the big screen via “Queen of the Ring.”

It’s clear Pappy worked at a higher cinematic level.

“Ring” has gumption aplenty and it’s impossible not to cheer Mildred’s pluck. As played by Emily Bett Rickards, she’s a force of nature who stifles the Patriarchy with every bicep flex.

Outside the ring, this “Queen” stumbles.

Rickards’s Mildred works at her mother’s diner but dreams of something bigger. She catches a live wrestling match and discovers her true purpose. She’ll stop at nothing to become a champion female wrestler.

There’s only one problem. Well, quite a few, actually, but one stands out. Women’s wrestling was illegal in many states during the 1940s.

Undaunted, Mildred teams with wrestler-turned-promoter Billy Wolfe (Josh Lucas, solid) to shake up the sport. Their partnership gets complicated quickly. He’s both caring and cold, and he sees Mildred as his path to path and fortune.

Lucas’ Billy Wolfe is a heel, of sorts. He’s a product of his time, a man looking to work whatever angle is needed to survive.

Mildred just craves enough cash to help her raise her young son. She soon learns the path she’s blazing is about much more than her.

“Queen of the Ring’s” tone teeters on camp, and the dialogue is loaded with “you, go girl” aphorisms. That’s not necessarily wrong given Mildred’s story and the culture in question. Still, it undercuts the value of her achievements.

Example? The screenplay repeats what might be a powerful line about women’s opportunities in the era. You could sling hash or fight other women and get paid for it.

Cute line … why replay it?

The script is so on the nose it’s like a professional wrestling match. That’s not a compliment.

It would be nice to get more behind-the-scenes details about the matches, the tricks meant to evoke real violence and other elements of the sport.

Mildred’s connection to Billy’s adult son (Tyler Posey) feels like a missed opportunity. The filmmakers seem to lose interest in it at the worst possible time. It’s curious how “Queen” holds back whenever Mildred’s romantic urges rise to the surface.

That missed connection isn’t alone. The film’s haphazard storyline makes even simple arcs tricky to trace. Walton Goggins floats in and out of the story, cast as a more humane promoter but never leaving the mark the actor usually does.

The film awkwardly tries to capture the sport’s racial woes via a trio of black female wrestlers. It’s a sweet aside, but the actresses in question aren’t given enough screen time, or dialogue, to matter.

Wrestling biopics, like the overrated “Iron Claw,” suffer from the sport’s obvious fiction. That’s partly addressed here via “shoot” matches where reality overtakes the scripted outcome.

That’s a fascinating nugget worthy of more screen time.

The film likely had a modest budget but made the most of its resources, from the vintage cars to period re-enactments which never ring false. The sense that we’re stepping back in time is constant and impressive.

So, too, is Rickards. She does much more than “look” the part of the iconic wrestler. She feeds off the role, understanding its cultural value. She practically wills the viewers to embrace Mildred’s journey.

Resistance is futile.

The flawed film’s very existence speaks to Hollywood’s cultural soft power. Mildred’s life story should be known far and wide. Now, thanks to Rickards and the “Queen” team, it just might be.

HiT or Miss: “Queen of the Ring” recalls an empowering chapter in women’s sports history, but the story isn’t as rugged as the iconic wrestler in question.

The post ‘Queen of the Ring’s’ Flaws Are Its Heel Turn appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

Martin Campbell’s “Cleaner” begins with promise, especially because it stars Daisy Ridley.

The establishing scenes are all about how Ridley’s character, Joey Locke, became skilled at sneaking out of her home during a rough childhood.

In present day, Locke is a window washer for a skyscraper.

There’s also a subplot about her troubled relationship with her brother, Michael, played by Matthew Tuck, but the appeal here is seeing Ridley suspended high above the earth and cleaning the windows of a massive building.

During one of her nighttime assignments, the building is taken over by terrorists. The leader of the operation is played by Clive Owen, the situation is dire, only one person can possibly stop the bad guys, who have taken hostages and- oh no.

It’s a rip-off of “Die Hard” (1988).

Unlike the best “Die Hard” rip-offs, such as “Under Siege” (1992), “Cliffhanger” (1993), “Executive Decision” (1996), “Cleaner” is such a non-starter, it made me question why Ridley, Owen and especially Campbell wanted to make this.

Considering that Campbell’s prior works includes two pivotal 007 thrillers, “Goldeneye” (1995) and “Casino Royale” (2006), as well as top-notch popcorn thrillers “The Mask of Zorro” (1998) and “Vertical Limit” (2000), it’s a wonder why he’d attempt a middling rip-off of one of the most iconic and still-wildly popular action movies of all time.

The last film I caught of Campbell’s was “The Protégé” (2021), the failed Maggie Q vehicle that wasted her time (as well as Michael Keaton’s and Samuel L. Jackson’s) and ours. Campbell’s latest is a similar miss – it’s too polished to be a called a cheap rush job but too underwhelming to take seriously.

The dialogue is full of cliches, like “nobody gets a free pass.”

Coming from the director of two exceptional 007 thrillers, “Cleaner” is minor league. It has been made with competence and energy, but that’s it. It’s busy but not exciting. Three writers penned the film, who presumably took turns cutting and pasting from “Die Hard’s” screenplay.

The stakes have never been higher. Here’s an EXCLUSIVE look at Daisy Ridley in #Cleaner, in theaters TODAY! pic.twitter.com/FM2QE7Jap4

— IMDb (@IMDb) February 21, 2025

I wish Ridley’s take on a Bruce Willis role could at least dumb fun (Rey Hard? Yippe Kai Yay Mr. Skywalker?) but this is a film entry Ridley will probably want her fans to forget, especially coming after her acclaimed work in “Young Woman in the Sea” (2024).

Admittedly, Ripley gives a strong performance, even while sporting a bad Peter Pan haircut, but she’s been much better elsewhere.

Owen is a poor substitute for “Die Hard’s” Alan Rickman. The last time I remember even seeing Owen in a movie was Ang Lee’s “Gemini Man” (2019). Roles like the one Owen is stuck playing in “Cleaner” are beneath an actor who was one of the biggest stars of the early 2000’s, a former 007 candidate who still has “Children of Men” (2006) as his calling card.

If the point is that Ridley is actually dangling outside that office building, I never felt the danger. The scenes of her outside the skyscraper are filmed and edited in ways that downplay the height and gravity.

If Ridley is really doing Tom Cruise-like stunts, the movie isn’t selling it.

* *

We sat down with DAISY RIDLEY to discuss her early acting days, the great challenge of her new #StarWars movie, and hanging off buildings for ‘Cleaner.’ Tune in here: https://t.co/AxcuPrPgQs pic.twitter.com/Qy7D3Imj8u

— In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast (@InTheEnvelope) February 27, 2025

The painfully generic score by Tom Hodge could be used on any middle-of-the-road TV crime series.

The premise reminded me of a famously unmade Jackie Chan project about a Twin Towers window washer. That production was cancelled after 9/11.

RELATED: WHY ‘DIE HARD’ STILL MATTERS

The promise of “Cleaner” is botched from the get-go – it takes too long to get Ridley’s character into the building and the gradual “Die Hard” thievery only underlines how masterful John McTiernan’s 1988 thriller still is decades later.

To say the least, “The Towering Inferno” (1974) is preferable, though the idiotic but entertaining 2018 Dwayne Johnson vehicle “Skyscraper” is also so much better than “Cleaner.”

Why am I even giving this junk one-star? There’s one genuinely cool villain death and the end credit song “Vertigo” by Griff is really good.

One Star (out of five)

The post ‘Cleaner’ Won’t Make Anyone Forget ‘Die Hard’ appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

Dito Montiel’s “Riff Raff” is one of the most off-putting films I can remember, the kind of bad movie that isn’t so-bad-its-good but genuinely hard to endure.

That the leads are Ed Harris, Bill Murray and Jennifer Coolidge, for starters, only makes the film’s failure even more depressing.

Appealing newcomer Miles J. Harvey stars and narrates as DJ, a talkative young man raised by Sandy, his mother (Gabrielle Union) and Vincent, her much older husband (Harris). While staying at an isolated home during the holidays, DJ and his parents find their quiet retreat interrupted by the arrival of Vincent’s son Rocco (Lewis Pullman), his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchin) and Vincent’s unconscious ex-wife Ruth (Coolidge).

It turns out that Rocco is on the run from a violent gangster named Leftie (Murray) and Lonnie, his lackey in training (Pete Davidson).

“A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” was Montiel’s 2006 directorial debut – in addition to filmmaking, Montiel reportedly teaches screenwriting at UCLA. The problem with “Riff Raff” isn’t the performances but the screenplay by playwright John Pollono.

This comes across like a pastiche of so many other movies that came before it, ranging from “Pulp Fiction” (1994) to “Fargo” (1996) and “The Ref” (1994) and many more.

“Riff Raff” feels like one of the dozens of post-“Pulp Fiction,” Tarantino-wannabe crime comedies that littered so much of the late 1990’s film scene. Not all of those violent, self-consciously “hip” shoot n’ quip movies were bad.

However, for every “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead” (1995), there were at least three “Suicide Kings” (1997), “Feeling Minnesota” (1996) and “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” (1997).

What Tarantino accomplished wasn’t easy, he just made it look and sound that way. The long line of imitators only demonstrated that “Pulp Fiction” was kind of a miracle, with everything that came in its path mostly terrible.

Considering the author’s background, it comes as no surprise that “Riff Raff” feels like a stage play, though seeing it presented as an insufferable night of bad theater isn’t preferable to the all-star treatment it gets here. The actors work the material, but Pollono keeps his story firmly in neutral.

Everyone present is giving performances that remind me of their prior work.

Coolidge is playing a washout with a tendency to say some vile things at random, the kind of role she played far better in Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (2009). Harris has given far more impactful depictions of men enduring a public slow burn and Union deserves better than appearing in this.

Pullman is effective in a tougher role than usual, though it oddly reminded me of the comic turn his father Bill Pullman once gave playing a similarly impulsive criminal in “Ruthless People” (1986).

Murray’s scary portrait of a truly dangerous man is the best reason to see this, though he was even more intimidating playing a similar lowlife in the vastly underrated “Mad Dog & Glory” (1993). Davidson’s promising scenes with Murray made me wish they were in a different, better movie, instead of appearing here sporadically to bring some needed menace.

The other standout in the supporting cast is Michael Covino, captivating as Leftie’s rotten-to-the-core son, though his scenes, like all of the flashbacks, aren’t really necessary.

“Riff Raff” starring Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Lewis Pullman, Pete Davidson & Bill Murray – The Poster is Here! https://t.co/JfV5aT4ZLa pic.twitter.com/J5GEN4gMD0

— Craig Zablo (@CraigZablo) February 8, 2025

Once we get to the third act, where the ensemble cast faces one another in a single location, it should all come together but just gets even uglier. The ending is a big nothing and the intended thematic exploration of dysfunctional families is, likewise, a complete bust.

Aside from a visual bit where yet another flashback is constantly interrupted by DJ’s needing instructions on how to operate a stove, I never found any of this funny. Adam Taylor’s score emulates Howard Shore’s ticking clock theme from Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” (1985), yet another movie I wished I were watching instead of this one.

“Riff Raff” premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews and missed the awards-heavy winter. When a film with a cast this good can’t squeeze into the Oscar season, consider that a warning.

Here’s another one – I love most of the actors in this but will never watch “Riff Raff” again.

One Star (Out of Five)

The post Starry ‘Riff Raff’ Falls Incredibly Flat appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

Parenthood isn’t for the faint of heart.

Sleepless nights. Sudden illnesses. Bills atop bills. The Terrible Twos (and threes).

The parents at the heart of “The Unbreakable Boy” face two additional layers to family life. Their adorable son is autistic and suffers from “brittle bone” disease.

Their fact-based journey fuels a sobering look at parenthood. Yes, the “Oz Man” is the heart of the film, but Zachary Levi’s character offers an inspirational look at a flawed but fearless parent.

The charming courtship of Scott (Zachary Levi) and Teresa (Meghann Fahy, “The White Lotus”) gets an unexpected jolt. She’s pregnant, and the couple decides to move in together to care for their baby.

That’s Austin (Jacob Laval, excellent), an adorable lad with dueling medical conditions. He’s autistic, something the budding couple didn’t realize for some time. He also inherited his mother’s genetic condition leaving him prone to broken bones.

It happens so often that Austin’s narration ticks them off like minor achievements.

It’s enough to leave any parent woozy, Scott included. He’s comforted in two wildly different ways. He has an imaginary friend from his childhood named Joe (Drew Powell), a storytelling gimmick that shouldn’t work but often does, and beautifully so.

And Scott drinks when the stress becomes insurmountable.

The latter causes the most problems, naturally, and it’s one way “Unbreakable Boy” disappoints. Scott’s descent into alcoholism is too tidy and inconsistent to generate dramatic tension. The film’s PG rating keeps some grit off-screen, an understandable approach given the story’s feel-good bona fides.

Audiences of all ages will savor Austin’s joie de vivre.

We know Levi mostly for sweet, oversized roles (think “Shazam!), but he delivers an understated turn as a parent in crisis. Much of his pain is internalized, which makes those acting decisions wise.

Director Jon Gunn (“Ordinary Angels”), in turn, wrangles the tonal shifts with authority. It’s OK to relish Austin’s flights of fancy while processing his parents’ fear he’ll end up back in the hospital.

Or worse.

Patricia Heaton deserves more screen time as Scott’s mother, a no-nonsense type who looms large over his psyche. She’s maternal yet cold, a combination that could have been explored in a more nourishing fashion.

Peter Facinelli also feels underserved as Preacher Rick, a calming influence on Scott’s life. The “Twilight” alum offers the film’s faith-kissed elements, a hint at how faith becomes the most valuable element in Scott’s potential salvation.

Other story arcs deliver unexpected results, like the bully targeting Austin’s younger brother (Gavin Warren). 

Yes, “The Unbreakable Boy’ hits some predictable notes, but it does so with consistency and heart. Credit young Laval for holding the film together. Had his performance been too sticky-sweet this “Boy” would keep us at arm’s distance.

That’s hardly the case in this sweet and soulful drama.

HiT or Miss: “The Unbreakable Boy” has its flaws, but the joys of watching a bright lad inspire friends and family alike more than make up for them.

The post ‘Unbreakable Boy’ Puts an Imperfect Family First appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

“Millers in Marriage” may be set in modern times, but the ‘90s are never far from the screen.

Writer/director Edward Burns dissects the travails of 50-somethings in mid-life crises. They pine for their younger days, when “Seinfeld” ruled and AOL flooded the zone with Internet CD-ROMs.

So does the film, a throwback to storytellers who focused on lost souls seeking life’s missing ingredients. Think “Walking and Talking,” “Singles” and, of course, Burns’ “The Brothers McMullen” (1995).

Middle-aged malaise rarely gets a sober closeup like this, but too many story arcs fall into predictable ruts and never see their way out.

Burns lured a terrific cast to act out his latest New York story. Meet Maggie (Juliana Margulies), a writer married to a fading novelist named Nick (Campbell Scott).

Yes, two of the key characters are writers, another is an artist and everyone clings to their Big Apple roots. Burns takes the “write what you know” saw seriously, even putting the phrase in one character’s mouth.

Gretchen Mol co-stars as Eve, a former indie singer who settled for life with an unrepentant drunk (Patrick Wilson, lost in a one-note role). A music journalist (Benjamin Bratt) wants to do more than interview Eve about her one-hit-wonder days, but she feels too old to shake up her life.

And then there’s Andy (a bearded Burns playing the generic, well-intentioned guy). He’s dating Renee (Minnie Driver) after escaping from the awful Tina (Morena Baccarin).

Both Baccarin and Wilson should have held out for a rewrite of their toxic characters.

The family ties barely matter in the film (Eve, Maggie and Andy are siblings) beyond giving the title its teeth. It’s about marriages in decline, fueled by work disappointments, alcoholism or lives veering in different directions.

It’s all fine dramatic fodder, and Burns has the chops to pull it off – at least on paper. So why are so many subplots bland and predictable? Bratt resonates as a man who sees his handsome visage fading along with his career goals.

He’s desperate to save Eve from her terrible marriage. Her reluctance is hard to process despite Mol’s best measures.

What’s missing? A sense of narrative surprise. Why can’t some of these characters disappoint not just their spouses but subvert our expectations? Human nature is messy. The film embraces that truth without taking advantage of it.

So we wait for characters to wake up, make a move or just stop being passive-aggressive. A lethargy sets in just as the relationships should be coming into sharper focus.

Edward Burns’ MILLERS IN MARRIAGE starring Burns, Minnie Driver, Gretchen Mol, Julianna Margulies, Morena Baccarin, Benjamin Bratt, Patrick Wilson, and Campbell Scott will be in theaters and on digital VOD next Friday. It had premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. pic.twitter.com/ROMAtnurf5

— Film Festival (@LifeIsAFilmFest) February 15, 2025

Don’t blame the cast. They make the most of an uneven screenplay, each getting a moment to shine. Eve’s frustrations over abandoning her career for married life are familiar yet palpable. It might help to see more of her now-grown children to flesh out what she lost and gained by that decision.

A few quieter scenes crackle as partners reveal the limits of their affection. It’s still hard to watch yet another on-screen author enduring “writer’s block.” That film cliché needs a 10-year sabbatical.

At the very least.

Burns, now 56, is the perfect age to essay the love lives of older couples. It’s an unsexy topic ripe for indie storytellers.

“Millers in Marriage” looks like the Burns feature we need from him now, but the results prove more frustrating than fulfilling.

HiT or Miss: “Millers in Marriage” explores the love lives of attractive, 50-something souls. What’s missing is the insight the subject demands.

The post ‘Millers in Marriage’ Stalls Just When It’s Ready to Soar appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.

“The Monkey” shouldn’t work on any level.

The gimmick is simplistic to the point of ridicule. Most of the movie’s deaths are telegraphed a country mile away. You could jot the story down on a cocktail napkin with room left over for a stranger’s phone number.

Maybe two.

So why is it a cinch for the year’s Top 10 horror movie list? Writer/director Osgood Perkins, that’s why. The rising horror auteur (“Longlegs”) makes the most of the wafer-thin material, touching on family dysfunction in ways that give the story teeth.

Not the titular monkey’s teeth, mind you. They’re scary enough.

A ghoulish prologue, no spoilers here, announces the film’s gleefully dark tone.

Twin brothers Hal and Bill squabble endlessly, but they agree on one thing: They adore their single Mom (Tatiana Maslany, superb). She’s an odd duck but loving and sincere.

They’ll need that support when the boys discover an old toy left behind by their estranged Pappy. It’s a large, mechanical monkey with a snare drum.

Simple. Weird. Old school. It’s a curiosity they can’t resist.

Wind it up and, well, someone better call the funeral parlor. The toy haunts the lads’ childhood and, inexplicably, bonds with them.

Flash forward to the present. Mild-mannered Hal (Theo James, perfectly cast against type) never got over the monkey’s legacy or his bullying brother. Now, the twisted toy is back in his life, and it threatens not just him but his teen son, too (Colin O’Brien).

“The Monkey” is based on a Stephen King short story, and on the surface, there’s little “there” there beyond a cute horror ploy. Wind the Monkey up and watch what happens next.

Again, how pedestrian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Perkins develops the dysfunctional family with quick, assured strokes. Funny strokes, to be clear. You’ll laugh early and feel a tad guilty later. Black comedy has that effect.

The laughs flow from the maniacal kills and character reactions. Both prove irresistible and long-lasting, and the precise editing heightens the humor. Every gag cuts like the knives Idris Elba wants to ban.

James’ handsome visage should work against the character’s morose mood. Nothing doing. His Hal is a prime-time sad sack, and we feel for his attempts to do something fatherly at long last.

Horror mavens crave quality “kills,” deaths that are wild, inventive and fresh. It’s a ghastly part of the genre’s fan base. Few filmmakers have as much fun with the trope as Perkins’ “Monkey.”

Each death is a masterpiece of gore and mayhem, and we laugh partly out of discomfort and shame.

The third act puts a few pieces of the story in place, a process that isn’t as satisfying as needed. There’s still enough danger and creativity to power those final sequences.

Perkins drops by as the boys’ blissed-out uncle, a small role that lets us glimpse the fun he must have had on set.

We get it. We’re having a blast with his “Monkey,” too.

HiT or Miss: “The Monkey” sets the comedy-horror bar sky high, delighting in death while teasing darker truths about family dysfunction.

The post ‘The Monkey’ Delivers Enormous Blast of Outrageous Kills appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.