CAPTIVATING CINEMA COMMENTARY FROM DAVIS, CALIFORNIA
The End of Oak Street (2026) • View trailer TURKEY: No stars (out of five); rated PG-13, despite considerable violence and gore Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 8.16.26 This film fails — jaw-droppingly — on every level. The premise is ridiculous, poorly rationalized, and fails to maintain internal consistency. The main characters are inadequately…
One Night Only (2026) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); rated R, for frequent profanity, sexual candor and surprisingly little nudity Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang Although one first must accept this film’s ridiculously unlikely premise, what follows is an unexpectedly delightful romantic comedy, highlighted by Travis Braun’s continuously cheeky script and two stars who share…
Spider-Man: Brave New Day (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for action violence and occasional profanity Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 8.9.26 After the chaotic multiverse complexity of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home — a score card was needed, to keep track of all the superheroes, super villains and spider guys from…
The Dink (2026) • View trailer Three stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for occasional profanity and plenty of sexual vulgarity Available via: Apple TV+ By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 8.2.26 File this one under “Silly, but fun.” I’ve been waiting for filmmakers to embrace the rapidly expanding explosion of pickleball, and director Josh Greenbaum and scripter Sean Clements…
Pressure (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for war violence, bloody images and brief profanity Available via: Peacock (free to subscribers) and other paid VOD options By Derrick Bang Director Anthony Maras’ fact-based drama opens on a grim scene that evokes 1998’s Saving Private Ryan . It’s late April 1944. An ashen-faced Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) slowly…
The Furious (2025) • View trailer Four stars* (out of five); rated R, for strong, bloody violence, gore and profanity Available via: Amazon Prime and other VOD options By Derrick Bang The dramatic paradigm shifts in martial arts movies can be traced to specific actors and directors. Bruce Lee kick-started the franchise (pun intended) with 1973’s Enter the Dragon , and Jackie Chan moved the needle…
The Odyssey (2026) • View trailer Five stars (out of five); rated R, for violence, gore, dramatic intensity and profanity Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 7.19.26 Not many screenwriters get to share a credit with Homer. And Christopher Nolan is one of very few directors up to the challenge of the ancient Greek poet’s classic work. Warriors three:…
Enola Holmes 3 (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for violence and dramatic intensity Available via: Netflix By Derrick Bang This series continues to delight on all levels. Director Philip Barantini, new to the franchise, blends its many diverse elements with stylish élan. He’s rewarded, in this third entry, with fine performances from everybody in the cast: most notably…
Moana (2026) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); rated PG, for action peril, scary images and rude humor Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 7.12.26 The window between Disney’s animated features and these semi-live-action remakes seems to be shortening, given that Moana 2 sailed into theaters just two years ago. This new film’s arrival feels…
Minions & Monsters (2026) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); rated PG, for animated violent action and rude/macabre humor Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 7.5.26 Minions features always have felt less like a coherent film, and more like a randomly assorted collection of sight gags, but this one is particularly scattershot. (It’s no accident…
Supergirl (2024) • View trailer Three stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for strong action violence and occasional profanity Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang In and of itself, the notion that Kara-El (Milly Alcock) has become a self-destructive tear-away is appropriately poignant. Kara (Milly Alcock, left) repeatedly tries to protect Ruthye (Eve Ridley), by insisting that she remain…
Color Book (2024) • View trailer 4.5 stars (out of five); rated R, for occasional profanity Available via: Netflix By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 6.28.26 Writer/director David Fortune’s sensitively assembled little film completely erases the divide between viewer and screen; from the very first frame, it feels more like eavesdropping on two actual people. Although this day…
I Am Frankelda (2025) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); rated PG, for dramatic intensity, scary images and fantasy violence Available via: Netflix By Derrick Bang The imagination, craft and world-building in this fantasy — Mexico’s very first stop-motion animated feature — are off the chart. I wish similar attention had been paid to the story. After allowing her conscious self to be…
Toy Story 5 (2026) • View trailer Five stars (out of five); rated PG, for mild rude humor Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 6.21.26 The Toy Story franchise has been a marvel since the first film’s 1995 debut. This fifth entry is the best thus far: a bold statement, considering the quality, imagination, voice talent, carefully sculpted characters,…
Disclosure Day (2026) • View trailer 4.5 stars (out of five); rated R, for action violence, gruesome images and some profanity Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 6.14.26 This is 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind writ very large. Director Steven Spielberg’s original story — fleshed out by skilled genre screenwriter David Koepp — hits the…
Miss You, Love You (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated TV-MA, for profanity Available via: HBO By Derrick Bang Two-handers are a challenge on film, because they often feel like plays that wandered into the wrong medium, losing some of their live-on-stage intensity in the process. That isn’t an issue when one of the performers is Oscar winner Allison Janney. As time passes, Diane…
Power Ballad (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated R, for relentless profanity and some drug use Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 6.7.26 Irish writer/director John Carney clearly loves music as much as I admire his films. Starting with 2006’s charming Once — with its poignant, Academy Award-winning song “Falling Slowly” — and…
She Dances (2025) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for fleeting profanity and some drug references Available via: Amazon Prime and other VOD options By Derrick Bang This is a Wince During The First Half And Pray For A Reasonably Happy Outcome movie. I don’t mean that in a bad way. Director/co-writer Rick Gomez’s feature debut is a frequently charming little character drama,…
The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for sci-fi action and violence Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 5.31.26 You simply cannot ask more of a Star Wars movie. The Mandalorian has been — by far — the most popular streaming series set in the Star Wars universe, and considerable credit goes to…
The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop (2025) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); not rated, but akin to PG-13, for occasionally frustrated profoanity Available via: Amazon Prime By Derrick Bang Full disclosure: I had more than a casual interest in Simon Ennis’ engaging documentary before seeing the first frame, because Constant Companion and I ran a game and puzzle store in our town, from 1978 to…
Jack Ryan: Ghost War (2026) • View trailer 2.5 stars (out of five); rated R, for violence and profoanity Available via: Amazon Prime By Derrick Bang This seems to be the week for popular streaming shows to spawn feature-length films. I hope the Mandalorian and Grogu are treated with more respect. When a tightly planned operation goes horribly wrong, CIA Deputy Director Greer (Wendell Pierce,…
Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) • View trailer 4.5 stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for brief profanity, fleeting drug use and dramatic intensity Available via: Netflix By Derrick Bang Author Shelby Van Pelt must be pleased; book-to-film translations aren’t often treated with this much respect. Although Tova (Sally Field) finds it difficult to share her private anguish with anybody else, she…
Jaunt (2024) • View trailer 3.5 stars (out of five); not rated, and akin to PG-13 for sensuality, brief nudity and profanity Available via: Amazon Prime and other VOD options By Derrick Bang Folks with a fondness for California’s scenic coastline will get a kick out of this film. Writer/director Alexi Papalexopoulos’ accomplished feature debut is a road trip in both the physical and spiritual…
The Sheep Detectives (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated PG, and needlessly, for mild dramatic intensity Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang • P ublished in The Davis Enterprise , 5.10.26 Director Kyle Balda’s quaint little charmer is certain to appeal to fans of Babe , Charlotte’s Web and other (sorta-kinda) live-action talking animal movies. This one blends that core…
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026) • View trailer Four stars (out of five); rated PG-13, for sensuality Available via: Movie theaters By Derrick Bang The delicious snark isn’t quite as evident, and a greater degree of sentimentality is present, but everything else about this long-awaited sequel is spot-on. When a panicked Andy (Anne Hathaway) confesses that she has nothing appropriate to wear for a…