Words On Film

0:00Hello and welcome to Words on Film, the spoken word show dedicated to moving pictures. I'm Dan Burke, your host and movie critic, and you are listening to Words on Film on WBCALP Boston. On this show, I will be reviewing some of the newest movies out right now in theaters and or on streaming. Whether or not you agree with me, I'm glad you could join me to discuss my favorite topic, which is... For this show, I have five movies to review for you. Two of them were released into theaters on September 18th, 2026, and the others had been released in previous weeks, but I'm getting to them now. So I'm going to start with the movie that is probably going to be the biggest hit and undoubtedly the most talked about, as I usually do. The first movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Resident Evil. If you're thinking that this is a remake of the movie of the same name that came out

1:03in 2002 that starred Mielejojiewicz and Michelle Rodriguez and was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, you are not entirely correct. However, this Resident Evil from this year of our Lord 2026 is like Resident Evil from 2002 in the sense that both of them are based on the popular Japanese video game that people for generations have been playing on PlayStation. I've never played the game, but I hear great things about it. But the plots of both Resident Evil movies could not be more different. As a matter of fact, this movie Resident Evil from 2026, which is directed by Zach Craigor, who had previously directed Barbarian and Weapons, both of which were critically acclaimed horror films, and one of them, Weapons, I critically acclaimed myself. This is the second reboot in the Resident Evil film series. The first film series, and I won't get too far into this because I only have a limited

2:03time, went from 2002 to 2016 and produced six different movies, all of which starred Mielejojiewicz as Alice. And then there was a reboot in 2021, which is called Resident Evil, Welcome to Raccoon City. And even though I was hosting the show in 2021, I think we were still in the midst of the pandemic and lockdown. So there were a lot of films in 2020 and 2021 and 2022 for that matter that I missed. So I saw the first Resident Evil film for 2002, and when I saw it, I acknowledged that it was a fun movie, but not a great movie. But it was big enough a hit to merit five sequels, which were inevitably not as well received as the first one, and the first one was actually critically panned. But for what it was and for a midnight movie, I certainly enjoyed it. But when you have Zach Kregger as the director of this Resident Evil movie, and he's known

3:06for making films that are deeper than just the popcorn, action flicks, or the cheap scares, you're probably going to get something special. However, when I entered this film, knowing Zach Kregger had directed it and how he did a phenomenal job directing weapons the year before, which became the first horror film in many generations to win an Academy Award, the only Academy Award for which it was nominated. I was bracing myself because sometimes a filmmaker who's made an Academy Award when a winning movie will direct a film that's part of a franchise, and that film won't do as well. One classic example of this is Chloe Zhao, who after she directed the Academy Award winning Nomadland, followed that up with directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie The Eternal's. And I gave Chloe Zhao the benefit of the doubt because she was a new director in an already established franchise, and her direction was not the primary thing that was wrong with

4:11The Eternal's. However, in a little while she ultimately followed that up with Hamnet, which was an excellent film and an Academy Award winning film. But Zach Kregger here directing Resident Evil and also writing the screenplay along with Shea Hatton has some promise because Zach Kregger seems to have not only the direction but also the creative control behind this movie, which I think he uses very well. The Resident Evil, this one that came out in 2026, is in the same sort of universe with the same kind of events that were going on in the original 2002 film, but this film follows a hapless medical curry, who's tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. But he soon finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and must fight through hordes of mutilated creatures to survive. This medical courier is by the way named Brian, and he's played in a fantastic lead performance

5:13by Austin Abrams. And he's a guy who works very hard, he's an unskilled worker, but he also is somebody to whom a lot of people can relate, especially considering that he has this one package to deliver for which he's getting paid twice as much as he usually does, and he's also navigating these treacherous roads because the movie takes place in the middle of winter and during a storm. And while he is delivering this package to this hospital in Raccoon City, which is the fictitious city that's in the Resident Evil franchise, both the movies and the video game, he accidentally runs over somebody. And in one of those classic examples of no good deed goes unpunished, which is a phrase that I hate, but in this case it is true, he finds the person who he who stepped in front of his car and takes them in to get them to the hospital.

6:15And from then on, bad situations happen one after the other with Brian completely unaware of the pandemic that's going on around him as well as the ramifications behind every living creature who gets caught up with this pandemic that turns creatures into monsters. And the source of this pandemic and where it started is not explained in this movie, but it doesn't have to be what you're wrapped up in as you're watching this film is whether or not Brian is going to survive. And Austin Abrams does a lot of talking to himself in this film. And that is not a fault on the script because chances are if I were in this position and these creatures were trying to infect me and has infected just about every living creature around me almost I would probably be scared out of my mind too. And I would be talking to myself as well, especially considering that he's out in the middle

7:18of the night in the winter and he wants to be home with his girlfriend. But while he is taking what seems to be the path of most resistance, he's probably safer being on the run than he is trapped at home with his girlfriend. So Resident Evil has a lot of legitimate scares and some amazing special effects not to mention the fact that Austin Abrams turns in a great performance here where he is talking to himself through the majority of the film, but that's relatable considering that if you were in his position you would probably be cursing the world yourself as well. Not to mention the fact that Austin Abrams character Brian swears so much in this film. And that's not a fault against the screenplay because again, if you had seen some of the messed up things that his character Brian has seen and I'm not just talking about sitting in a theater, if you were actually experiencing these things in the real world, you would probably be swearing too.

8:19That's why this Resident Evil gets my rating of a knockout. It is not just a brainless popcorn movie and it also ends in a way you don't expect, which might disappoint some people and upset others, but it is really a killer ending that is unforgettable. Not to mention that Zach Kregger wrote and directed this film incredibly well. As far as I'm concerned, as far as I know, he's stayed true to the mythos of the original video game, but he did not forget what makes a great story. But in the capable hands of lead actor Austin Abrams here in a star making performance, he makes Resident Evil above and beyond a vast majority of video game films. It may be true to the mythos of the original video game, but even more important than that, it is a thrilling film that tells an amazing story.

9:41Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is The Weight. And the weight is a prolific film that feels like it is based on a book or some previous medium, but it actually is not. It's an original story and screenplay written by Matthew Bowie, Leo Sherman, and Matthew Chapman. The director is Padriak McKinley. And it follows a man who is desperate to save what is left of his family. And during the height of the Great Depression in rural Oregon, he is hired to help smuggle a fortune and gold across 100 miles of impenetrable wilderness. And from the get-go we're introduced to a character by the name of Samuel Murphy who's played by Ethan Hawke. And he lives alone along with his daughter Penny who's played by a wonderful young actress

10:43named Avi Berry. And the two of them are trying to survive in the midst of the Great Depression in 1933 in rural Oregon. And things start to go bad when they are evicted from their apartment. Even though Samuel Murphy is a very skilled tradesman and can fix just about anything that needs fixing, including cars, he finds that he is evicted from his apartment and asked to sell some of his worldly goods in order to find a new place. But then there is a scuffle and misunderstanding that results in Samuel Murphy punching a police officer whom he didn't realize was a police officer. As a result, he lands in jail and Penny is sent to an orphanage. So eventually Samuel Murphy is transferred to a work site camp which is run by JJ Clancy who is played in a strong supporting role but all too brief performance by Russell Crowe.

11:49And he eventually finds, JJ Clancy, Russell Crowe's character, eventually finds that Samuel Murphy is not just a hard worker but he also has a skill for doing what seems to be impossible tasks such as removing a large boulder from a road that the work crew is working to get paved. So then JJ Clancy hires Samuel Murphy and some other workers of his choice to go to another town and get gold from a gold mine that is being rated by the orders of a man by the name of George Taggart who is played by Alex Newman. So Ethan Hawks character in addition to three other inmates, Rankin who is played by Austin Amelio, Singh who is played by Avi Nash and Olsen who is played by Lucas Lingerd Tennyson join him in the quest to go through this wild organ wilderness and retrieve this gold

12:54from this gold mine and then go back to the sites to deliver the gold. But if you think that going through this treacherous wilderness is easy, well, you're in for a very unpleasant surprise. Unless of course you are sitting down and watching this movie in the theater in which case it's probably going to be surprising to you see what these guys go through and they certainly go through their own Odyssey, but you wouldn't want to necessarily trade places with them. There's one particular scene that I thought was the most thrilling and to see this after fall to dead point. There's a scene involving a rope bridge that if you make the wrong step, you could plunge to your death. But the problem is this bridge is so rickety that the crew has to resort to playing catch with gold bricks in order to get every single gold brick across the bridge.

13:55It is a very tense scene and I'm not going to tell you exactly what happens, but this was the part of the film where my palms were sweating the most. It also felt a lot more realistic than the heights through which the female antagonist went through in fall to dead point, but it's not just that rickety bridge where there are a lot of tense moments. But there are also some other moments involving some people who actually live in the mountains that was actually kind of reminiscent of deliverance without the rape that may be a little bit of a spoiler, but still these perceived hillbillies who live in these Oregon woods and much to the chagrin of the prisoners as well as the prison guards who were watching over them, including Laytender who's played by George Burgess and Amos who's played by Sam Haseldeen. They also have some tricks up their sleeve and also there's that deal about these people

15:00who are carrying gold bricks along this poor stretch of Oregon and their means of survival. Ethan Hawke I think does an amazing job playing Samuel Murphy although he does seem to be too old to have a daughter of the age of the one in this film. And at first when I saw this film and I saw the two of them together, I initially presumed that this movie was going to follow the plot of Paper Moon because it has the same sort of setup where there's an older man and his young daughter and they're trying to work together to survive during the Great Depression. But I liked the idea that the movie subverted some other people's ideas that this was going to be another Paper Moon. But it also has some things in common with a lot of films from the 70s, particularly those starring Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty and Bert Reynolds. I mentioned Deliverance previously and Ethan Hawke comes off probably a bit more like John

16:02Void's characters during some of the movies that he did in the 60s and 70s. I hope Ethan Hawke doesn't end up like John Void in a lot of ways but that's another story for another time. But this is a particularly terrific film that Padreak McKinley directed reminiscent of directors before him like Robert Altman and John Boorman. And it is as thrilling as it is a film that tells an amazing story which is why the weight gets my rating of a knockout. And throughout my synopsis and naming some of the major characters, I also forgot to mention another character here, the only female in this movie throughout a majority of the film who is a local indigenous woman named Anna who's played by Julia Jones, predominantly known for being in the Twilight movies. But like Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Julia Jones seems to have gone above and beyond the stigma that's attached to the Twilight movies.

17:05And she's also been in some terrific movies after that like the Taylor Sheridan, Penn Wind River. And here she acts very well and holds her own alongside a lot of these other men, particularly the character played by Austin Emilio who is a classic example of toxic masculinity. But even the scenes between her and Ethan Hawke are dynamic, particularly one scene involving Ethan Hawke getting trapped in a river. How she manages to aid Ethan Hawke in that scene is very smart and incredibly phenomenal. So the weight is one of my favorite films that I've seen so far this year. Welcome back to Words on Film, the spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures.

18:20I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is The Uperizing. And this is the latest film directed by Paul Greengrass, known predominantly for having directed films such as Bloody Sunday from 2002, United 93, which was nominated for best original screenplay in 2007. All of the movie came out in 2006. He also directed some other films like Captain Phillips is probably his best known one as well as many films in the Born franchise, including the first few films, the Born Identity and the Born Supremacy. Here in The Uperizing, Paul Greengrass who also wrote the story and the screenplay to this film is basing this story on the true story of The Uperizing that inspired the legend of Robin Hood. And Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a rebellion against the tyranny of King Richard II in a fight for justice. So this movie is not based on any previously written material, at least not as far as I know

19:23of, but according to the credits, it is inspired by actual events with some artistic liberty being taken within the story. And sometimes the artistic liberty is pretty easy to see. But Andrew Garfield is actually not named in this film, believe it or not. He's only known and presumably colloquially as Plowman because he is a modest farmer who is an expert at plowing fields. And even though he's an expert at plowing fields and he has a horse to help plow, he puts in some very hard work as he is tending to his land. But he eventually befriends some other people in his section of rural England, including a man by the name of John Ball who's played by Jamie Bell. And Plowman sees first hand that the kingdom of England is imposing unreasonable demands on the working class by raising taxes, something that is quite universal but is particularly

20:26relevant in this day and age. However, we're also introduced to King Richard II who is played in this film by Woody Norman. And something that I wasn't aware of until I saw this film was that when King Richard II was first appointed as King, he was a child. Literally, he was 10 years old. And in this film, he is 14 years old and he finds that heavy is the head that wears the crown. And at first, it seems like King Richard II is well intentioned, but then when taxes go up and there's an uprising, you find that King Richard becomes the controversial King that he ultimately becomes in adulthood. And another thing I didn't realize about King Richard II was, even though he was King of England during the 14th century for a significant amount of time, he became the King young, which I also didn't know, but he also died young at the age of 33.

21:28And my mind has probably been poisoned by the Robin Hood films that I've seen where in the end, King Richard appears and King Richard is supposed to be one of the minor protagonists, but he's also usually played by somebody who is old, like Peter Yustinoff or Sean Connery or Patrick Stewart. But King Richard II actually died at the relatively young age of 33, which might have been considered not elderly, but older in the middle ages as the life expectancy was a lot lower back than it is now. But regardless, you still see in this film a lot of the citizen uprising, as well as the political corruption that became the livelihood of the Robin Hood legend. But here in this film, it seems particularly real. In Andrew Garfield does a great job playing an every man who finds himself becoming a

22:30prince of thieves, but there are other characters in this film who can't be connected to other beloved Robin Hood characters like Fryer Talk and Made Mary. And in fact, in this film, there is no love story. And I think Paul Greengrass was wise not to include a love story here. That's not to say there aren't any dynamic female characters. In fact, there's one dynamic female character named Alice, who is an everyday citizen, like Andrew Garfield's character Plowman. And Alice is played by Thomas McKenzie, who is a phenomenal actress. And I've liked her ever since I'd seen her in the movie Leave No Trace. And eventually, the Academy is going to give her the recognition that she deserves. But what I also really like about Thomas McKenzie is the fact that rarely in a film is she required to give any passionate show stopping speeches. But she shows that she's a team player by integrating very well into the story and also holding

23:37her up her end of what her character is supposed to do very well. And I think that Thomas McKenzie and Andrew Garfield in particular work very well together. And it's not just Andrew Garfield and Jamie Bell, who are best friends in this film, who also work together. But I was also really impressed by Woody Norman as the young king who has gotten himself in over his head. And it might not entirely be his fault, but he does make some other choices later on in the film that are quite dubious. But he's also under an influence of what seems to be a well-intentioned Countess, who's played by Catherine Waterston, who is aiding King Richard in his daunting quest of being the head of one of the most powerful countries in the world in the Middle Ages. And that part hasn't changed entirely, but that's another story for another time. But the uprising is a very satisfying film that feels a lot more raw than any adaptation

24:42of Robinhood to date, including some recent adaptations of Robinhood that have tried to be more realistic. But I think here sticking to the facts, the uprising really works better than a lot of the other more modern versions of Robinhood that are otherwise particularly forgettable, which is why I give the uprising my rating of a knockout. I think it is brilliantly acted. It tells an amazing story. The ending is also probably the most memorable of any movie involving or implying to have involved Robinhood. And it doesn't end the way you particularly expect either. I'm not saying it doesn't end happily, but it ends on a note that might invite itself to a sequel, but don't exactly hold your breath. But if there is no follow up to the uprising, I think you could be assured that this movie, the uprising, stands very well on its own and was expertly written and directed by Paul

25:42Greengrass. But just about everyone in this film, especially Andrew Garfield acts incredibly well. Welcome back to Words on Film.

26:45The spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Hope. And this is a film that comes out of South Korea and is directed by and written by Na Hong Jin. Even though the human actors in this film are all South Korean and most of all are unfamiliar to Western audiences, it still doesn't matter because the actors in this film are very good at their roles. And maybe I'm spoiling a little bit of what I think about this film. But there are also some other actors in this film who you wouldn't expect in a film that was made in South Korea. But you also see these actors in motion capture animation instead of their human cells. And I'll get into those characters in just a minute. But here's a synopsis about the movie Hope. Hope is a monster horror and science fiction film which you wouldn't expect from a movie

27:47that is called Hope. And apparently this movie was originally released in South Korea was titled Hope. Yeah, that's an exact translation. You don't need to be fluent in South Korean. I'm not to get that it is a translation. But the movie is about a mysterious discovery that's made on the outskirts of a remote harbor town. And the residents within this town find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against something they have never encountered before. And going into this film, I knew what the name of it was, I knew some of the actors in the film, but I didn't know anything else. I hadn't seen any previews of this film which is typical because I never watched previews anymore. But I didn't know what this movie was going to be. And I love going into a movie knowing as little about it as possible and having it surprise me. The downside of that is as you're listening to my review, I'm spoiling this for you. I told you that it was a horror film and that it is a science fiction film.

28:50So you can probably presume that this film is about aliens that come to earth and destroy whatever humans they can find. And in that case, you would be correct. I did not know this going into this film. So for that reason, it surprised me. I got the gist as the movie progressed that this movie was about a monster. But what I loved about it was in the very first hour of the film, you never see the monster in the first third of this film because this film runs at two hours, 40 minutes. And that is significantly longer than most films. In fact, when it premiered at cans earlier this year in May, it was 160 minutes, but it actually was cut down to a final cut of 156 minutes. And even then, it does feel kind of long in some instances. And honestly, I do think that there were some parts that they could have cut out.

29:51But the first hour of the film was chilling because you didn't see who this creature was, who was killing people in this town of Hope Harbor, which is a small village near the Korean demilitarized zone and is undoubtedly where this movie gets its name. But what I liked about it was the buildup because you had these people, including a police chief by the name of Kobam Siak, who is played by Huang Jung Min. And he is the chief protagonist in this film. He is armed with artillery, particularly a machine gun, but he and a lot of other vigilantes with whom he is reluctantly teamed, eventually find that there are guns, including their powerful semi-automatic machine guns, don't do very much for the monster that is within their midst. And the longer you don't see this monster, the higher the tension is.

30:52It's reminiscent of something that Alfred Hitchcock said about the reveal of the monster isn't the scary part. The scary part is not seeing the monster. And that's not exactly what Alfred Hitchcock said, but it's paraphrasing. The point is that Alfred Hitchcock had the right idea, and he exemplified that in his movies with a storytelling that what you don't see is scarier than what you do see. But eventually you do see the monster. And I think that the monster is off screen enough for it to be scary. But once the monster reveals itself, I think it's even more scary. And if the movie had gone the entire way without having seen the monster, I think it would have gone on for a little too long, and it would have felt a little bit more like a gimmick. But I really loved how there was that fantastic build up that made the first hour of this film go by so fast. But then once the town and the people in it and around it realized what's going on and

31:53where this monster came from, that's when things really start to pick up. And that's when this movie at two hours and forty minutes didn't feel like it was that long. I just knew it was that long because I saw this on a weekday on a day where I usually don't have time to see movies that long, but I made time for this film and I am so glad that I did. The movie's title, Hope, doesn't exactly give you an indication what this movie is going to be. In fact, it feels like the name of either a comedy or a faith-based film, but Hope is still full of surprises, which is why I give this movie my rating of Unknockout. Yeah, the movie was a little longer than normal, but I did love the suspense and also the movie never had me predicting, at least not correctly, what was going to go on next. The way that the monsters or the aliens look in this film is beside the point.

32:58Of course, once you see who is playing some of the aliens in the film, including well-known actors in the Western world like Michael Fastbender and Alicia Vikander, you can actually see the resemblance between their motion capture characters and the humans themselves, but that's not the point. The point is seeing all these South Korean people with limited means and very few things in common. Some people are just natural hunters who live out in the wilderness. Others are more professional like the chief of police that I just told you, but they find that they have to reunite in really extreme ways to save themselves and also to do some extreme things that they wouldn't otherwise normally do. In fact, there is a car chase at the very end of the film, which had my palms sweating. And I won't give away what happens during that car chase, but it involves an alien

33:59yes, but it also involves a horse. And that is all I'm going to say about it. Otherwise, check this film out for yourself, see it on the big screen if you can. This movie is dynamic and definitely lives up to whatever hype it has conjured up so you know. Welcome back to words on film. The spoken word show dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke.

34:59The next movie I'm going to be reviewing for you is Buddy. And this is usually the part of the show where I tell you who directed it, who's starring in it, etc. But I want to make something clear. Buddy is also the name of several other properties, including a film that came out 29 years ago, starring Renee Russo as an animal lover who befriends a gorilla by that name or one that she names. This movie buddy is not a remake of that 1997 film starring Renee Russo. I hadn't seen that film, but that film also got terrible reviews upon its release. But I do have to admit I am curious about that. But this film buddy is about something even more subversive and also something even darker and twisted. The movie is about a kid's television show that's hosted by an anthropomorphic orange unicorn whose name is Buddy. And he is voiced by Keegan Michael Key in a vocal performance that honestly if I had not seen Keegan Michael Key's name in the credits, I probably wouldn't have known

35:59that it was him. So to Keegan Michael Key's credit, he gets the voice and the cadence of this child-friendly unicorn down pat. Buddy is obviously a parody of Barney and Friends, particularly where there's this very large, likable creature that's very accessible and seemingly kind to children and they live in a clubhouse and they have adventures every day while also learning life skills about being a good person. There's that, although there are some things when I was watching the movie buddy and the show within the movie where there are things that Buddy does here that actually Barney didn't do quite as well. For example, there's one particular scene where there's a girl who is afraid of entering a dance contest and Buddy says to her that being afraid is part of being brave, which is actually a really good message.

37:01And that's something that Barney would never cover because Barney always had a smile on his face. He was always saying, everything's wonderful and let's play and sing songs. And one of the chief critiques about Barney and Friends, especially from adults, was that unlike Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers' neighborhood and other well-received children's shows on PBS, Barney never dealt with any negative emotions and never taught children what to do when they experience sadness and grief and other things. But surprisingly, this character Buddy actually does that. But that's the extent of the goodwill of Buddy because if kids on his show don't fall in line, then Buddy gets nasty and shows a very dark and subversive side to him that, rest assured when Barney and Friends was still making new episodes, Barney would have never done. And there are some parts of this film that I thought were pretty clever and I loved

38:03how it subverted the idea of this squeaky clean kids-friendly TV show and showing how some of these lovable characters could have a really dark side. But I also think there were scenes in this film where it could have gone darker, especially when the kids who find themselves on the show and somehow didn't realize how they got there, including a girl by the name of Freddie who's played by Delaney Quinn, once they start turning against Buddy, Buddy shows a darker side. And to be honest with you, once Buddy goes from being a likable orange unicorn to showing his dark side, his dark side is honestly laughably cheap. And I do get that this film was made on a low budget of $3 million and what they were able to achieve with that $3 million was pretty impressive. But once Bar- I won't say Barney, once Buddy becomes this dark creature, it's really

39:05laughable and really cheap what he becomes. It almost seems like one of those costumes that you would have found at Kmart that any kid would have dressed up as and they would have looked like a kid in a Halloween costume. So I was disappointed there. But I also didn't really buy the idea of these kids finding themselves in the trapped in this kid's show and not remembering how they got there or remember, excuse me, remembering their life before being on this show because apparently it's not just them being on a TV set. They are in a TV universe that doesn't have cameras. In other words, what you see is what you get except for the idea of Buddy being instead of a likable creature being a very dark dictator of this world that you either acquiesce to the good feelings that this show exemplifies or you die.

40:09And that part I thought was funny but I liked that part of it but I think the movie could have done a lot more universe building in showing how these kids got onto this show. And it's hinted at at the very end but I think it's too little too late. And the movie does take on a bit more emotional gravitas when there's a mother who is the mother of two boys but she somehow finds that she thinks she's had another child but nobody in her neighborhood seems to remember that except her. And her name is Grace and she's played by Kristen Miliotti and I like Kristen Miliotti a lot. Every movie and TV show I've seen her in, she's done a phenomenal job including some movies in which she didn't get a majority of the attention like the Wolf of Wall Street for example. But in this film I did like how she made her way to Buddy's world and incorporated herself

41:11into it. But I feel like her journey into this world could have been explored further not to mention how the character of Freddie who has a link to Grace begins to question her surroundings and also is trying to find out how she got to this place that seems like a utopia but becomes ultimately a kid-friendly dystopia as she digs figuratively speaking further. And I think that could have been explained better, I think that the universe building could have been stronger but as it is I do think that Buddy is one of those films that is likely to become a cult classic. And as a matter of fact even though it has had a very limited release in theaters it has so far as of the date of this podcast made $30 million on a budget of $3 million. So already this movie is a sleeper hit. And I think there are some things that are worth seeing about this film and there are

42:14some things that are very funny. But I think that the universe and the universe building in this film could have gone deeper which is why I give Buddy my rating of a checkout. I do think that the scenes that involved Buddy and his friends in this universe and the way that the kids especially Delaney Quinn but also some of the other supporting players like Madison Sky Poland and Shamest Flynn who also are some of the other kids in this film and Tristan Borders is another one. I like how they incorporated themselves into this show that was very similar to Barney and friends and if Barney and friends was still on the air rest assured these kids would have gotten on the show or at least been in the finals. That's how good they are. But I think that the concept of how these kids got into this world, why their memory of their past life before being in on this show was erased and other universe building

43:18ideas could have been explored further in this film. And there are also some other moments where some of the jokes fell flat as a result of these missed opportunities. But overall I do think that Buddy is a delightfully subversive film. It does get into psychological horror but again there are some missed opportunities here that I think had they been explored even with a tiny $3 million budget could have made this film significant. Welcome back to Words on Film.

44:24The spoken word showed dedicated to moving pictures. I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke. Now that I have reviewed all the movies I have to review for you for this show, it's now time for me to get into my final segment which is what's coming up next. This is a spoken word preview of movies that are subject to being released in this case in theaters for the week of September 21st through 25th, 2026. And the majority of the films I'm going to mention are subject to be released in theaters on September 25th which is a Friday this year. So on September 24th, 2026 there are two films that are subject to being released in theaters. One of them is a film that is an action-adventure drama called The Paradise. And I'll go through this very briefly because this looks like a foreign film that may not be released in the theater near you. But as I said it is subject to be released in theaters. It takes place in 1980s Sec Kunderabad where a marginalized tribe battles discrimination and fights for citizenship under an unexpected leader's guidance challenging system systemic

45:29oppression. The movie is directed in court and by Srakhan Fodala and stars Nani, Roghav Zhu Yal and Kayaudu Lohar. So chances are the larger multiplexes might be showing this film but it sounds like it is an Indian film. It might be Bollywood I don't entirely know but as I said previously all Indian films are not necessarily Bollywood. Bollywood is just a section of India that makes as many films if not more than Hollywood. But anyway this film The Paradise is a film I might see but it's going to be low on my priority list. Then there's another film that's coming out or subject to be released in theaters on September 24th which is a documentary and the movie is called Who Moves America. And typical of movies that have questions in their title this movie doesn't end with a question mark because in Hollywood that's considered bad luck which is why movies like

46:32they shoot horses don't they, who frame Roger Rabbit, what's eating Gilbert Grape, usually don't have a question mark at the end of their title. Anyway this is one of those instances but you can also see it as the statement here is Who Moves America. So speak. But anyway the movie follows UPS teamsters who build solidarity amongst 340,000 workers as a strike deadline approaches. The film follows a new California driver, a 1997 strike veteran in New York and a part time Kentucky warehouse worker as they organize and pick it. This is a movie I really want to see. It's directed by Yale Bridge and stars Justin Aloe, Antoine Andrews and Angel Badu. And again these are people who are interviewed not ones who are acting so if you don't recognize their names you're not alone but this is the kind of documentary I love to see. If this is coming on to theater near me I will see it and I'll let you know what I think

47:34on a future show. But then we get to September 25th and this is going to be the first weekend in the fall season of 2026. So there are some pretty big films that are coming out this year including one that's going to be released from A24 and this movie is called Primetime. This movie takes place in 2006 where to catch a predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history. This movie is directed by Lance Oppenheim and this is his first dramatized feature film. He's directed documentaries before this and this film will probably have some elements of a documentary as it is based on a true story but it's not entirely a documentary. And the actor who's playing Chris Hansen in this film is Robert Pattinson. Now the one issue I have with Robert Pattinson playing Chris Hansen is Chris Hansen was and he is a very genial guy. In other words he is a very likable looking person which may be one of the reasons he's

48:37so dangerous but Robert Pattinson has an intensity to him that I don't think makes him as affable as Chris Hansen was when he hosted to catch a predator. However the sort of intensity that Chris Hansen had as well as his controversial willingness to put people on the air who would certainly have some psychological problems and even makes people who would never condone pedophilia feel sorry for these people for them being showcased and exploited on this TV show will probably see that intensity in Robert Pattinson's performance as well. So it may not be accurate to the real Chris Hansen but I have a lot of memories of seeing to catch a predator shortly after I graduated college when it became a highly rated segment of date line NBC before spinning off into its own show as well as some other things. But yeah eventually I found that to catch a predator was kind of fun to watch but I also

49:43acknowledged after watching a few episodes it being fun to watch was part of the problem because it became less news and a lot more exploitation with people who practice things that I would never condone by the way but this movie does have a terrific cast including not only Robert Pattinson but Merritt Weber, Skylar DeSando, Matthew Mayer, Bokeem Woodbine, Alex Winter, Tony, Rev. Laurie and others. So prime time is a film that I will see and I'll let you know what I think on a future show presumably on next week's show but I've got a lot to think about with that. Another movie that's subject to recent theaters on September 25th is a movie that's called Heart of the Beast and this is the latest film starring Brad Pitt's and it takes place after a herring plane crash where a special forces officer in his combat dog find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. That's really interesting because they're in America and they're stranded in America

50:47but they're also in the Alaskan wilderness and Alaska is a huge state where there is yards and yards of remote territory but anyway together they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements. The movie is directed by David Ayer and in addition to Brad Pitt it also co-stars J.K. Simmons and Anna Lamb. And those are the only people on the roster of actors here so it seems like it's going to be Brad Pitt carrying a majority of this movie on his own and I don't know if the dog against whom he's playing is real or CGI. I don't have that information but I'll probably find out for you when I see it and when I see this I'll let you know what I think on a future show. Another movie that is subject to recent theaters on September 25th is an animated film from DreamWork that's called Forgotten Island and this is directed by Joel Crawford and John Well P. Mercado who had previously directed Puss & Boots The Last Wish which was a far

51:50better movie than I expected it to be. But in this film Forgotten Island it's about two best friends who become stranded on the mystical world of Nakali where their only escape might cost them their shared lives of memories. Alright so this is a pretty original film. The voice cast includes Dave Franco, Jenny Slates, Leia Salonga and Liza Soberano amongst other people. This is a film that I will likely see and I'll let you know what I think on a future show. That just about does it for this episode of Words on Film. Words on Film is the spoken word show dedicated to moving pictures and I am your host and movie critic Dan Burke reminding you that the views and opinions expressed on Words on Film about movies are other topics are solely those of your host and movie critic Dan Burke. They not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of any employees or volunteers who are working at WBCA or the station as a whole. Until I watch a whole bunch of brand new movies this is Dan Burke saying I'll see you at

52:56the movies.