{"id":64843,"date":"2026-03-06T15:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/?p=64843"},"modified":"2026-03-06T15:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:03:44","slug":"movie-reviews-mini-movie-reviews-2026-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/movie-reviews-mini-movie-reviews-2026-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"MOVIE REVIEWS: MINI MOVIE REVIEWS 2026\u2014PART III"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINI MOVIE REVIEWS 2026\u2014PART III<\/h1>\n

With the Actor Awards<\/em> finally behind us, we now turn our movie attention to next weekend\u2019s Oscars<\/em>. So here\u2019s my third, and final, installment of my Mini Movie Reviews<\/em>. (If you missed the first two, you can still read them here: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/movie-reviews-mini-movie-reviews-2026-part-i<\/a>, and here: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/movie-reviews-mini-movie-reviews-2026-part-ii<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>In case you didn\u2019t realize this, the nominees vary a bit from awards show to awards show. I will try to see the few that didn\u2019t<\/em> overlap with the Oscars<\/em> in the next two weeks, so if I have any pressing thoughts on those few, I\u2019ll most likely just tweet them out. (I\u2019m @MajorCelebrity<\/strong>, in case you\u2019d like to follow me now.)<\/p>\n

However, Mr. X and I were obligated to force ourselves to continue watching these mostly-not-fun films because we had to vote for the Actor Awards<\/em>, (the former SAGs<\/em>,) which took place last weekend. I\u2019m a big believer in fairness, so I insisted on viewing all<\/em> the performances, no matter how unworthy of awards most of them are.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m afraid that the spate of lackluster films for this year continues. If I did not firmly adhere to those fair voting practices, I would have quit most of the flicks in the first ten minutes or so. The only movie I really enjoyed, (except for the occasional sadness in it,) is Song Sung Blue<\/em>. So let\u2019s begin with that one:<\/p>\n

Song Sung Blue<\/em><\/strong>\u2014Outside of the ending sadness, which isn\u2019t even true, this was my favorite movie of the year, and the most normal one.<\/p>\n

\"Hugh<\/a>

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue.<\/p><\/div>\n

For those nescients among you who think this is a Neil Diamond biopic, (I\u2019ve read that error\u00a0from people who have even seen<\/em> the film, which is just insane,) it definitely is not<\/em>! It\u2019s the true (to a point) story of a couple in Milwaukee who do a Neil Diamond \u201ctribute band\u201d beginning in the late \u201980s.<\/p>\n

I was shocked at how good Kate Hudson is in it; she\u2019s just about perfect. Now I\u2019m glad she\u2019s received so many nominations for the role. And my long-lasting crush, Hugh Jackman, should have definitely been nominated, as well. It\u2019s a shonda that he has not been.<\/p>\n

Now I can\u2019t wait to see the 2008 documentary about the couple on which this fictionalized is based, but that endeavor will have to wait until after<\/em> the Oscars because my dance card is full until then.<\/p>\n

Wicked: For Good<\/em><\/strong>\u2014Even having seen the stage musical\u2026*twice<\/em>, I still had no idea what the premise of this second part of the Wicked<\/em> story is. They should have not broken the one<\/em> Broadway show up into two<\/em> films; that was greedy of them. This second half really needed the thing they do at the beginning of TV series\u2019 episodes, where they show us the highlights of \u201cpreviously on\u2026\u201d So I had to stop the movie halfway through and look-up what was going on with it.<\/p>\n

\"Ariana<\/a>

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked: For Good.<\/p><\/div>\n

*[Note: Even though other commitments made me miss the Opening Night the first time Wicked<\/em> was out here in LA, I saw it a few weeks later, in order to review it on my TV show. And my old pal Adam Lambert was in it\u2026in the chorus<\/em>! Don\u2019t ask. But it was soooo disappointing. I didn\u2019t need to ever<\/em> see it again, but I knew that two of my friends in New York wanted to see it on Broadway when I was visiting, and I had an in for tickets, so I was happy to take them to the musical. But even those two usual Pollyanas didn\u2019t care about the show!]<\/p>\n

It is very visually<\/em> interesting, and\u2014I\u2019m surprising even myself to say this\u2014Ariana Grande is really lovely in it. So there\u2019s that. I began watching it just because she was nominated, so, in my fair mind, I had to, but I wound-up wanting to finish it, perhaps just to hear Ariana and Cynthia Erivo sing For<\/em> Good<\/em>, which is a beautiful and powerful song. I haven\u2019t stopped singing it in my mind for weeks now!<\/p>\n

Hamnet<\/em><\/strong>\u2014As Mr. X declared, this is superior filmmaking. But I<\/em> say mostly\u2014get the F out of here with it! (I\u2019ll elaborate in the next paragraph.)<\/p>\n

Even though I\u2019m not a fan of this one, the two boys in it are revelations. And they\u2019re brothers in real life. Jacobi Jupe plays the young, (about eleven years old) son, the titular Hamnet, while his older brother Noah Jupe plays the lead actor of Shakespeare\u2019s play, Hamlet<\/em>. After I saw the movie, I realized that Noah was also the wonderful young actor who had played Nicole Kidman\u2019s son in 2020\u2019s The<\/em> Undoing<\/em>! I had lauded him in a couple of articles back then, and am shocked it\u2019s taken this long for him to get to the forefront of moviegoers\u2019 consciousness. And little Jacobi\u2019s performance is like he\u2019s channeling a grown-up great actor; it\u2019s almost haunted.<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>

I do love this image of Hamnet near the end ofthe film.<\/p><\/div>\n

But the movie is a mess. Just as its director Chloe Zhao\u2019s hair always is. The lead character, Agnes, (Shakespeare\u2019s wife, although they never once mention his last name, and refer to him as, \u201cWill\u201d just once, near the end,) wore one dress for the entire many-years-long film. (Or perhaps iterations of it, which is almost equally crazy.) And the couple never ages over the many years, although they both work outside, (with no sunscreen,) and lose a child, which ages you immediately.<\/p>\n

And worst of all\u2026the story is false<\/em>! About a real-life person who was a cultural icon!!! That\u2019s inexcusable. They also never make the years<\/em> known, so all the action is a confusing jumble. And it\u2019s hard to figure-out where everyone is living. Or why anyone\u2019s upset. And why it seems to be perpetually summer, in England, of all places! And why the wife had to be lying down<\/em> to have one of the twins, but then have to sit<\/em> on a \u201cbirthing stool,\u201d (or some such name,) to have the other one a minute later. Also, what ever happened to Shakespeare\u2019s father? He was there one minute, then totally disappeared from the narrative!<\/p>\n

I hate movies that are not clear. It\u2019s just so pretentious of the writer and director.<\/p>\n

Weapons<\/em><\/strong>\u2014I watched this odd film the same night as The State of the Union Address<\/em>, and this horrific movie was less of a horror than what Orange Hitler had to say!!!<\/p>\n

\"Amy<\/a>

Amy Madigan in Weapons.<\/p><\/div>\n

But outside of that, despite all the excellent performances, and interesting presentation for the first half, Mr. X and I wound-up hating it. It totally fell apart near the end, seeming like the writer\/director just got tired of figuring-out how to wrap it all up, and threw a bunch of horror movie cliches at the audience.<\/p>\n

But just about everyone in the cast, especially Benedict Wong as the school Principal, is excellent in it.<\/p>\n

Bugonia<\/em><\/strong>\u2014Yet another movie that I hated with every fiber of my being! This is one of the worst movies I\u2019ve ever seen, possibly even worse than Sinners<\/em>, actually.<\/p>\n

How the heck is it labeled a \u201cblack comedy\u201d and a \u201cthriller?!\u201d It\u2019s neither. It\u2019s more horror than anything. By now I realize that Emma Stone and her director buddy, Yorgos Lanthimos, are just creepy weirdos. Upon researching the film, (in the middle of watching it, actually, because it was so awful that I needed a break,) I discovered that it\u2019s a remake of a 2003 South Korean film, but that fact does not excuse this disturbing duo from foisting it on the public. They owe us all our time back.<\/p>\n

\"(Bottom<\/a>

(Bottom L-R) Emma Stone, Aidan Delbis, and Jesse Plemons in the insanely-named, (even though we can all look up the meaning,) Bugonia.<\/p><\/div>\n

But Jesse Plemons is wonderful in it. It\u2019s a shame the Academy Award voters didn\u2019t see fit to nominate him for an Oscar<\/em>, as he has been for the Actors<\/em> and the Golden Globes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And Aidan Delbis, as Jesse\u2019s autistic cousin, is good, although I have a feeling that, unlike Leonardo DiCaprio\u2019s incredible performance in What\u2019s Eating Gilbert Grape<\/em>, he\u2019s just playing himself.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s it for my 2026 film reviews. I really hope that next year\u2019s are better, but with everyone trying to be so \u201cdifferent\u201d in show biz, I don\u2019t have much optimism on the subject.<\/p>\n

The Oscars<\/em> aren\u2019t until next Sunday, March 15th, so you all have time to follow me on Twitter (or X) @MajorCelebrity before then. (If you don\u2019t already, of course.) After what is sure to be a crazy and exhausting few days before the awards show, I\u2019m looking forward to just sitting in front of the television and live-tweeting it all for you guys! May the best people win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINI MOVIE REVIEWS 2026\u2014PART III With the Actor Awards finally behind us, we now turn our movie attention to next weekend\u2019s Oscars. So here\u2019s my third, and final, installment of my Mini Movie Reviews. (If you missed the first two, you can still read them here: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/movie-reviews-mini-movie-reviews-2026-part-i, and here: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/movie-reviews-mini-movie-reviews-2026-part-ii.) In case you didn\u2019t realize<\/p>\n

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