All posts by Stephen Michael Brown

I've reviewed films for more than 35 years. Current movie reviews of new theatrical releases and streaming films are added weekly to the Silver Screen Capture movie news site. Many capsule critiques originally appeared in expanded form in my syndicated Lights Camera Reaction column.
2026

ENZO Rolling Out Red Carpet Glamour at GTC Trilith Cinemas for Third Annual Viewing Party

Leave a comment

The magic of Hollywood comes alive at ENZO’s third-annual Oscars Viewing Party on Sunday, March 15, 2026 at GTC Trilith Cinemas for the first time. Benefiting  Two Sparrows Village and Variety – the Children’s Charity of Georgia, this highly anticipated event will transform the Town at Trilith’s new multiplex into a scene straight out of silver screen legend. Guests will arrive in style, walking a red carpet lined with professional photographers capturing every glamorous entrance.

The festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. with the chance to grab to drink and mingle with fellow cinema and fashion aficionados and cast prediction ballots. As the clock strikes 7:00 p.m., all eyes turn to the screen for the 98th Academy Awards, hosted for the second year by late-night comedy icon Conan O’Brien.

Throughout the evening, attendees will savor a curated menu of Chef Andrea Montobbio’s signature dishes, alongside expertly crafted cocktails inspired by iconic films. Adding to the excitement, emcee and Silver Screen Capture Chief Film Critic Stephen Michael Brown will host engaging giveaways, with prizes ranging from ENZO gift cards to movie memorabilia.

Tickets are $125 per person and include two drink tickets and a selection of bites from ENZO’s award-winning kitchen. For additional details or to reserve a spot, visit enzo-itl.com or call (770) 756-9188. GTC Trilith Cinemas is located at 165 Trilith Parkway Fayetteville, GA 30214. Stay connected for updates and more on Facebook and Instagram at @enzoitl.   

Tickets available: https://enzo-itl.com/experience/enzos-oscars-viewing-party-3/

Enzo’s Oscars Viewing Party

2026

Hot Dam! “Hoppers” Places Nature’s Engineers at Center of Habitat Showdown

Leave a comment

The Avatar movies aren’t the only cautionary tales to swoop into “save the whales” territory, with a new full-length animated feature film showcasing eco-warriors eager to pounce on a beaver protection bandwagon. It’s not as full-on funny or immediately memorable as some of the top-shelf Disney-Pixar films, but Daniel Chong’s Hoppers (B) centers a creative story on a young female activist infiltrating an animal habitat to save it from developers, resulting in quite an animal kingdom rally. Suffice it to say our protagonist inhabits the body of a semiaquatic rodent and learns a good bit about the sound and, well, furry of living with the land, the pecking order keeping creatures in harmony and the bipartisanship required with humans and animal counterparts to increase the peace. Chong tells a solid story with winning animation and most of all an agenda of urgency and education eclipsing some of the sly delights, even though there are many in the midst. Voice actors Meryl Streep and Dave Franco are a hoot as mercurial monarchs of the insect world, while Piper Kurda and Bobby Moynihan keep things fetching in the freshwater. Make sure the young scientists in your family check this film out, as its insights are far deeper in the pond than the kiddie fare previews may promise.

2026

”Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie” is The Best

Leave a comment

Canadian comedy scales new heights of creativity in Matt Johnson’s rollicking and raucous Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie (A-), chronicling a pair of fictionalized musicians (the manic Johnson plus straight man Jay McCarrol) endeavoring to land a gig at a nightclub in their beloved Toronto hometown, and no highjinks, homages or holler-backs are off-limits along their daft-punking journey. Neither the band’s curiously familiar name nor the Quixotic  plight to promote themselves nor the blurry backstory nor the dubious prospects for future success make much sense at all for those diagramming a conventional plot, but the “let’s just go for it” mentality is the stuff of an improv fever dream and the reason a dreamy time-traveling quest format works so well. The filmmakers constantly top themselves and set crafty traps for droll detours, with funny flashbacks making their deviled Easter eggs abundantly clear. This mighty mockumentary blends scripted and candid camera footage into a “yes, and…” whirling dervish of a caper, bringing viewers along for a sweet ride of laughter and recognition. Fans of the viral online series and cult TV show will most certainly appreciate the franchise’s giddy glow-up into full buddy film comedy, as if the pratfalls of a Jackass or Borat were given the canvas of Chaplin’s Modern Times or an extended afterlife exploration into John Belushi or Andy Kaufman’s noggins. There are a variety of set pieces and stunts that prompt a “how’d they get away with that?” feeling as the comic duo enlists the CN Tower and a Back to the Future style time machine aboard a tour bus, powered with the fizz of a bygone beverage, into their lofty, overcomplicated and unquestionably maximalist plans. There’s a thematic undercurrent that a best friend who’s full of both insane and inspired ideas evokes a simultaneous desire for constant together time as well as the longing to eject from the relationship completely. This flight of fancy or “flee and don’t look back” duality is fully explored with masterful comic effect. Johnson and McCarrol make for a superb comic pair, subversive and fiercely acerbic like few funnymen since Monty Python. You don’t have to know this duo or their eclectic characters before experiencing this movie to fully relate to their daffy plight and relish it completely. 

2026

“Scream 7” Sees Original Screenwriter Take Stab at Directing

Leave a comment

Original franchise scribe Kevin Williamson steps up to a writer/director role in the saga’s first wholly mundane entry, Scream 7 (C). For both the filmmaker and his returning leading lady Neve Campbell, the exercise is oddly one of restraint, as if it’s more important to show they can right the ship of a successful formula than actually display joy in doing it. The main story focuses on Campbell’s character as she both protects and prepares her high school daughter (Isabel May) when a killer re-emerges as a new neighborhood nuisance. As final girl in training, May doesn’t make much of a splash, nor do the latest batch of fresh-faced teens, despite the director’s history cheerleading for this demo. Joel McHale is a new character with little to do, and Courtney Cox, the sole actor in all seven films, at least gets a few of her longtime wishes. There are a few creative kills and some fun cameos from Ghostfaces of series’ past, but the film is largely scare-free and dramatically inert. As the resident Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of the proceedings, dispensing glib commentary about the film’s meta rules, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown are a vibe and seem to be the only characters having a good time. For a horror series so steeped in always being one crafty step ahead of its characters, this tepid entry keeps everyone at about the same basic level. And as likely the biggest theatrical debut for the series in a while, it’s too bad the metaphorical knife here doesn’t slice with much panache.

2025

“A Mess of Memories” a Joyous and Cathartic Feature Debut

Leave a comment
Screenshot

It’s always delightful to witness a new take on a classic trope, in this case the ensemble dramedy, told with a sharp and distinctive new voice on the filmmaking scene. When three sisters reunite in their childhood home to confront a hoarding mother in writer/director Ebony Blanding’s A Mess of Memories (B+), there’s an ample mix of hilarity and healing. The central trio of actresses are remarkable in their roles: Brittany Inge as the grounded and funny sibling, Cynthia D. Baker as the bitter and more than mildly germ-phobic sister and GeffriMaya as the new age social media influencer of the bunch, most intent on getting to the bottom of their collective familial issues. The chemistry between these idiosyncratic Black women on screen is solid, as estrangement transitions to new energies. Jason Louder is superb as their brotherly counterbalance, especially tender in a moment when he reveals concerns about history repeating. And in a small but potent role, Sherry Richards is magnetic as their maddening maternal grand dame of contradictions. There are a few flourishes of refreshing narrative creativity which frankly could have extended and another sequence or two mildly overstaying their welcome; but all in all, it’s absorbing material. Blanding has sensational control over the storytelling beats and plumbs natural emotion rather than melodrama from a collection of character archetypes rarely seen on screen. The family residence is nearly a character itself with relics sure to evoke knowing reflections from viewers; kudos on the very authentic art direction. This auspicious debut would make a great double bill with either Waiting to Exhale or Sentimental Value. 

2026

Sashay, Brontë! In Praise of Fennell’s Fashionable, Foreboding “Wuthering Heights”

Leave a comment

Emerald Fennell’s stylized retelling of Wuthering Heights (A-) paints with all the colors of her whim: statuesque leads involved in constant craving, outrageous bodice ripping romance, can’t-look-away couture costumes, an ultra-glam soundscape, twisted minor characters, luminous colors melting off the edges of the screen, a bodily fluid or two too many and very little fidelity to convention. The sum of the iconoclastic director’s fever dream of parts is often a hypnotic hoot and even more so a tantalizing tone poem on the nature of longing. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are absolute delights as childhood companions whose off-kilter dynamics have evolved into a tainted lovelorn mess. Their chemistry is a palpable cavalcade of mood and madness, played out with a paper doll palette of blissed-out bravura. The duo’s adventures from the peaks of fog-coated mountainside trysts to the valleys of vigorous palace intrigue make for a full-fledged extravaganza of love and vengeance; and while the film is overlong at times and likely a bit appalling to Brontë scholars, it is nonetheless sexy and funny as hell. The maximalist magic shell covering the bones of this literary classic (or rather about half of it), doesn’t sugarcoat or cloak the subtleties or satire of class structure themes. It tells its own tale and blazes its own trail, keeping the story timeless and contemporary. Linus Sandgren’s evocative cinematography lends the story surprises around each bend, and the music by Anthony Willis punctuated by Charli XCX bops underscores the film’s pop sensibilities with reckless rhythm. Jacqueline Durran’s costumes are shimmering and sublime, casting stunning silhouettes across Caroline Barclay’s creative off-kilter production design captured on 35mm VistaVision film. Among the pulpy players are Hong Chau as a cunning killjoy and Alison Oliver as a daffy comic foil. I’m not sure what Shazad Latif was going for exactly in a thankless role. Fennell’s film is magic and tragic, giddy and gothic, electric and eclectic and should fit the bill for those seeking a sumptuous cinematic bonbon with an independent sensibility in time for Valentine’s Day weekend.

2026

Sundance Film “The Musical” Thinks It’s More Subversive Than It Is

Leave a comment

Viewed as part of Virtual Sundance Film Festival 2026

In Giselle Bonilla’s The Musical (C-), Will Brill plays a frustrated playwright and middle school teacher who hatches the perfect plan to exact revenge on Rob Lowe’s character, the principal who has wronged him. The game plan seems foolproof: ruin the school’s chances of winning the prestigious Blue Ribbon of Academic Excellence by staging an inappropriate and chaotic school play. At the film’s center, Brill doesn’t register with the comic timing nor the screenplay words to properly propel the dark comedy. There’s some fun with occasional outrageous jokes at the expense of woke culture, and the kid ensemble is roundly enjoyable. Bonilla maintains consistent gallows humor, but the enterprise just doesn’t get much lift. Anyone who has viewed the 2016 TV series Vice Principals or the 1999 movie Election has already seen a much better interpretation on similar themes. By the time the showdown goes on in the final act, there’s not much more to say or sing.

2026

Sundance Dramedy “Chasing Summer” Showcases Talents of Comedienne Iliza Shlesinger

Leave a comment

Viewed as part of Virtual Sundance Film Festival 2026

Based on her spirited original screenplay, comedienne Iliza Shlesinger stars as a global humanitarian licking her own wounds after losing both her job and her love interest in Josephine Decker’s joyful dramedy Chasing Summer (B). When her character retreats to her Texas hometown, she experiences a kind of Millennial coming-of-age that starts screwball and evolves to sentimental. There are good ensemble performances by Cassidy Freeman and Megan Mullally as family members, Lola Tung as a new friend and Tom Welling as a high school sweetheart, but it’s Garrett Wareing who rises to the top as a handsome and confident new younger boyfriend, providing our protagonist with a memorable age gap relationship which could either be a summer fling or much more. Shlesinger is largely a hoot as her fish out of water maneuvers a summer job at the skating rink including extracurricular keggers. The actress demonstrates considerable sass and spunk; and as screenwriter she gives herself some pretty fun situations and scenery to chew. It’s not the most original film (it’s telling it’s not even the only Sundance movie this year about the insights one learns on a return to one’s hometown: see – or rather don’t – Carousel). The romantic plot is electric, and our leading lady is funny opposite the more traditional Lone Star State women as she flexes her character arc. It’s well filmed and entertaining thanks to Decker, and a screen star is born in Shlesinger.

2026

Sundance Doc “Birds of War” Splices POV of Two Powerfully Connected Witnesses to History

Leave a comment

Viewed as part of Virtual Sundance Film Festival 2026

The grand tradition of a couple finding love against the backdrop of history continues in the nearly decade and a half chronicled in a new Sundance Film Festival premiere documentary. Birds of War (B+), co-directed by its subjects Abd Alkater and Janay Boulos, follows their love and war story. He’s a Syrian activist and cameraman, and she’s a London-based Lebanese BBC journalist. The story traces a pivotal 13 years of their personal archives spanning revolutions, war and exile. With international journalists banned from front-line coverage during the Syrian civil war, international news stations were reliant on activists on the ground to provide footage of the conflict. Exchanging text and voice messages between their respective cities of London and Aleppo, Boulos tasks Habak to clandestinely capture editorially approved stories and segments for her viewers. Gradually, theirs shifts beyond a working relationship, and the film deftly balances the gravity of the grim stories they cover with the flourish and delight of young people in love. The documentary traces the duo’s parallel lives and burgeoning love affair as Boulos loses her faith in journalism and Habak faces the inevitable fall of Aleppo. As both Syria and Boulos’ homeland of Lebanon undergo dramatic developments, the couple reflects on the sacrifices made because of politics and war, but also on the insights they’ve gained along the way. The film is powerful and emotional and a standout of the 2026 Sundance slate.

2026

“Hanging by a Wire” Chronicles Aerial Feats of Courage

Leave a comment

Viewed as part of Virtual Sundance Film Festival 2026

Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s documentary Hanging by a Wire (B) showcases valiant rescue efforts to save eight schoolchildren trapped mid-wire nearly 1,000 feet over a ravine in a daily use cable car in a remote part of the Himalayan foothills. With ten hours until the transport’s snapped wire is expected to drop the cabin of kids to the ground, viewers witness an array of techniques being employed to try to avert disaster. The film’s director orchestrates reenactments and captures fascinating interviews with locals and lieutenants juxtaposed with crystal-clear drone footage of the race against time. It’s a lean and exciting, if not particularly surprising, entry into real-life sagas of heroism. Some sophisticated techniques to save the stranded are no match for the ingenuity of some unexpected problem solvers. It’s clear why international attention turned to this North Pakistan tale, and this doc fills in many of the details with skill and finesse that will suspend disbelief.

2026

Sundance Premiere “Carousel” (2026) Makes You Pine for More Chris Pine

Leave a comment

Viewed as part of Virtual Sundance Film Festival 2026

Despite clearly positive intentions, Rachel Lambert’s domestic drama Carousel (C) is a whole lot of the same. It’s nice to see Chris Pine in a dramatic role: here he portrays a sad dad coping with changes in the physician clinic where he works, with an anxious daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson) and a childhood love interest (Jenny Slate) re-emerging in his life. The plot just doesn’t spark and the dialogue doesn’t crackle as the film quietly observes the machinations of domestic life. Most confounding, the chemistry between Pine and Slate doesn’t manifest with much natural energy, and it’s unconvincing these lifelong connections had a palatable past relationship. Still, despite the inertia of this particular movie, Chris Pine’s presence in it should remind casting directors we want to see more of him challenging himself in future juicy roles.

2026

Fascinating Sundance Documentary “Soul Patrol” Reunites Elite Black Vietnam Soldiers 50 Years Later

Leave a comment

Viewed as part of Virtual Sundance Film Festival 2026

Talk about men with a mission! J.M. Harper’s Soul Patrol (B+) is a moving documentary about a valiant recon team in Vietnam comprised of Black soldiers reuniting a half century later. It is enlightening and therapeutic for all involved, including this elite team’s wives endeavoring to pierce the veneer of bygone and often troubling memories. It is all the more poignant leveraging Super 8 camera footage captured by the Company F, 51st Infantry soldiers in action, many of them teenage innocents abroad facing adversity and experiencing a singular solidarity bonding them forever. The flashbacks are effective and in some cases quite tense as viewers learn the origins of the men and the challenges they faced on a variety of battlefields. Harper chronicles an abundance of history with craft and cunning, collapsing the past and modern day subjectively and with mastery. By the time the Blind Boys of Alabama’s “I Shall Not Walk Alone” plays as the heroes appear in modern day in the aisle of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, it’s truly a stand up and cheer event.