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On Screen Dayton

Paddling Film Festival at The NEON

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The Paddling Film Festival is returning to the historic NEON theatre in Downtown Dayton, Ohio on March 23. Thanks to a partnership with Massie Creek Paddlers, Mudlick Tap House and Bonbright Distributors we are stoked co-host 2.5 hours of the best paddling films of the year.
The films offer something for every interest and skill level of paddling enthusiast; from armchair adventurer, hair on fire whitewater paddler, kayak angler to long distance traveler and conservationist. We have no doubt you will leave the NEON ready to protect our waterways and grab a paddle the first chance you get!
Be sure to join our pre-party at Mudlick Tap House for happiness hour, contests and a group hike led by Surf Dayton to the film festival. Bonbright Distributors will make sure you don’t go thirsty!
Get your tickets online at www.neonmovies.com

Indigo Life Has Pilot Streaming on Amazon

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The pilot for Otherside was written six years ago and the pilot was filmed locally by Indigo Life Media in 2o21 during covid.  The concept: A curious group of individuals explore the paranormal world – some believers, others not so sure. A mix of comedy and suspense. Hosted by comedian, Dionte Allen and paranormal investigator, Tim Debusk.

Indigo co-founder Andrew White explains that  they loved the show and ran it on their own platform for a while, but realized in order to complete an entire season of the show, they need to raise funds and investors. The entire season would be produced crew of just 4 and has plenty of haunted spaces they’d like to explore.


So they’ve worked a deal with AmazonPrime to air the  2 episode pilot series and you can currently watch it for just $2.99/episode.

Episode One:

Gus & Eleanor built this home in the 1940’s and were loved by many in the neighborhood. Gus was even known as the mayor of Patterson Park in Dayton, Ohio. Gus died at 100 years old. Current homeowners Aaron & Nathan have documented evidence of activity so the crew meets up with them to further investigate.
Episode Two:

The historical Victoria Theatre in Dayton, Ohio is the scene for this paranormal investigation. Thousands have graced the stage with their energy since 1866, persevering through two fires and a flood. See what the crew discovers when the lights go out.
So check it out, support local film production and explore some haunted spots in Dayton.

McCoy on Movies: Creed III

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Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut has flash but lacks true punch to be a true title contender

“This is my Wakan, er, ring!” Titular character Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) raises his fists in a scene from Jordan’s directorial debut CREED III. Credit: Eli Ade © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. All rights reserved.
 WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
DIRECTOR: Michael B. Jordan

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Mila Kent, Wood Harris, Thaddeus J. Mixon, Spence Moore II, Florian Munteanu and Phylicia Rashad

 

THE BACK STORY: The third installment in the Rocky spin-off franchise, Creed III finds titular character Adonis “Donnie” Creed enjoying the good life. He’s retired, his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) has become a gold record earning music producer and their daughter Amira (Mila Kent), save for one would-be bully at school, is seemingly happy.
But it wasn’t always this way.
You see, back in his troubled youth (portrayed by Thaddeus J. Mixon), Adonis had issues at a group home where he was living with his best friend Damian “Diamond Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors, played as a youth by Spence Moore II). Dame was an aspiring Golden Gloves champion … And then came the fateful night where everything changed. Fast-forward 18 years later and Dame, thanks in part to a decision made that aforementioned night and one later made by Adonis’ mother (Phylicia Rashad), isn’t remembered at all.
He will be, however – which is why he’s ready to show Adonis that while he may be the champ, there’s no nemesis like an old friend …

 

THE REVIEW:
As Jordan’s directorial debut, the positives about Creed III are that the film looks good visually, there are some  … interesting sequences (one in particular) and the action sequences are fine by the previous films’ standards.
Then there’s the actual movie itself as a story … And that’s when things seem to feel a bit punch-drunk.
Look, Rocky and Creed films are never going to be great with certain logic points, but there is one plot point that – if you think about it – derails the storyline and plot points for the latter half of the film. (The logic the characters exercise or, more often, don’t, makes turning your brain off necessary to get through it.) Likewise, there hasn’t been good defense by a boxer in a Rocky movie since, well, ever and the referees make the ones in the WWE (or, depending on your favorite football team, a certain spots league) look competent by comparison.
Those complaints aside, the main problem with Creed III is that despite some opportunities to maybe explore some topics that could have made the film feel unique or even poignant – the idea of black rage, misguided youth, the impact of parents on children among them. Unfortunately, Creed III instead comes across as another so-so Rocky movie (think Rocky V). This wouldn’t be the case, of course, if the characters’ had better logic. Seriously, the decisions the characters make often seem ludicrous at best with reasoning that feels just as silly as the choices themselves. That makes it hard to buy into much of the film itself, which, given the nature of the average Rocky/Creed film, is essential.
Let me put it another way. As a four decade (and counting) fan of “sports entertainment,” a.k.a. professional wrestling, the key to the enjoyment is (1) appreciating the athleticism of the performers that (2) makes it able for you to suspend your disbelief that the outcomes aren’t pre-determined. These are live action movies unfolding before your eyes. With Creed III, the film never reaches a point where you are able to do the latter. Sure, Jordan, Majors and co. are in phenomenal shape and look the part, but the film lacks an element that makes you go “all in” and buy completely into the story. On a positive note, Mila Kent is precocious as Amira and does a great job throughout the film all the way to setting up her own movie one day(?).
With Creed III, Michael B. Jordan shows he knows what a movie should look like, how a first, second and third act are supposed to work and how to add visual style to the final product. Unfortunately, the story is so … familiar and logically flawed that it’s just hard to want to go the distance with it. Again, there are points raised that could have developed into something more than the standard boxing fare. The film looks good stylistically, Jordan shows he has potential to deliver a good product … But the film just lacks the punch – pun intended – to deliver the knockout blow you would hope it would.
Creed III comes in with all the hype of a title contender … But in the end, the franchise’s championship days – however short they may have been – are behind it.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
 

 

 

 

McCoy on Movies: Cocaine Bear

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Elizabeth Banks’ horror/dark comedy delivers exactly what it promises to uproarious, unadulterated fun

“This is what happens when you party in the woods in the 1980s!” The titular character lets loose with a little bit of snowfall in a scene from Elizabeth Banks’ inspired by true events dark comedy/horror COCAINE BEAR. Credit: © 2023 Universal Pictures. All rights reserved.
 WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Banks

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Leo Hanna, J.B. Moore, Aaron Holliday, Ayoola Smart, Kahyun Kim, Margo Martindale and the late Ray Liotta

 
THE BACK STORY: Inspired by true events – but definitely taking them to previously unforeseen highs (pun intended) – Cocaine Bear takes place in 1985 in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Why? Because that’s where a drug dealer (and millions of dollars of pure, uncut cocaine) crash landed. That’s a problem for Daveed (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) and Syd (Ray Liotta), a pair of southern drug dealers who cannot afford to upset their Latin American connections by letting all those drugs go missing. That prompts Syd to order Daveed to find Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) – a.k.a. Daveed’s trying to-go-straight partner and Syd’s son – to leave St. Louis and head towards Chattachoochee.
Syd, Eddie and Daveed won’t be alone in their hunt, however, for the forest happens to be roaming with colorful characters on this particular day. There’s Olaf (Kristopher Hivju) and Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra), an engaged couple hiking their way through the forest, animal specialist Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Liz (Margo Martindale) the park ranger who fancies him and the teenage gang of the ponytail (Leo Hanna), the guy in the vest (J.B. Moore) and their leader (Aaron Holiday).
Also in the woods are thirteen year-old duo Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery), who are about to learn that skipping school was the worst decision they could have made that day. Why? Not just because Dee Dee’s mom Sari (Keri Russell) is going to be very upset with them, but because a black bear has just found massive amounts of cocaine.
If you can’t imagine what’s going to happen next, you should probably look at the title of this movie again and get prepared for a journey unlike anything else you may see in 2023 … Or ever again.

THE REVIEW: In an era full of sequels, re-treads, dystopian futures and superheroes, Cocaine Bear carves out a niche for itself by delivering EXACTLY what its title promises: A 500-pound apex predator coked out of its mind running crazy in the middle of a forest causing hilarious – and at times, gory – chaos.

The bear is obviously the star attraction; what makes director Elizabeth Banks’ film entertaining and not an erratic mess, however, is the work of all the humans around it. The story is easy to follow, the actors deliver solid performances by playing things straight and Banks’ pacing keeps things snapping along so that nothing drags except the victims once the star sinks her claws in them. The laughs happen naturally, the shock moments are effective and not gory for the sake of being gory and the characters are likable enough and more developed than one would expect going in to the film.
Make no mistake, however: Cocaine Bear isn’t trying to be an Academy Award-winning film by any stretch of the imagination. However, it takes a wild concept and makes it an entertaining one from start to finish. Prince and Convery are great young stars to carry the film, Russell is completely believable and Martindale is a hoot as the park ranger. (If only Whitlock, Jr. had found a to work in his trademark catchphrase from The Wire, everything would be complete.)
While the world doesn’t need a sequel, it definitely can have a great time partying down with Cocaine Bear – just make sure the only snorting you’re doing is from laughing and everything should work out just fine.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
 

 

 

 

 

 

Indie Filmmaker Johnny Catalano’s Film Festival Tonight

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Indie filmmaker Johnny Catalano

The inaugural Catalano Film Festival founded by indie filmmaker Johnny Catalano starts at 4pm today at The Plaza Theatre in downtown Miamisburg.  It will feature 8 films from some of Ohio’s best filmmakers.

With genre’s including drama, thriller, dark comedy, and experimental; films from J.W Cox, Evan Maines, Ahmad Ghanim, Jackson C. Clark, Casey McCallister, Max Kaplan, Vaslav J. Rice and Darrin J. Friedman will be shown. The festival is scheduled for 6 hours, beginning at 4 p.m. A Q & A with the filmmakers will occur at 6:35 p.m. providing a rare opportunity to meet the people behind the movie that was just seen. The evening will conclude with an awards ceremony.

Catalano, who attended Bowling Green State University to study film production, shares that this festival is more than just showing movies. Its a night whose sole purpose is to celebrate and venerate the great auteur filmmakers living and working in the state of Ohio.

The schedule for the festival:

4:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Doors Open/Opening Remarks

4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Film Screenings

With intermission included.

6:35 PM – 8:00 PM

Q&A Panels with filmmakers

8:00 PM – 9:15 PM

Award Ceremony

9:15 PM – 10:00 PM

Final Remarks/Networking

Get tickets here

Tickets prices begin at $10, and an Inaugural Commemorative Ticket sells for $20.

What’s on Screen at The Neon

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We had a very solid weekend at THE NEON with nice, steady business for all screenings. Thanks to everyone who came out to support our 2 big Academy Award contenders – LIVING and WOMEN TALKING – as well as CAROLE KING: HOME AGAIN. It felt great to have so many people enjoying films with us. Both films are going to stick around for another week, and you still have a chance to see CAROLE KING this evening if you missed it on Sunday.

“Open Caption Mondays” continue to be well-received. On Monday, Feb. 6, WOMEN TALKING and LIVING will be presented with Open Captions. As a reminder, seating is no longer assigned on Mondays-Thursdays for traditional engagements.

Need a refresher regarding our current engagements? Click the images below to watch each film’s trailer.

LIVING:
WOMEN TALKING:
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS:ONE MORE SCREENING TONIGHT! Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 – CAROLE KING: HOME AGAIN – LIVE IN CENTRAL PARK. Tickets $12.50 each – available now!

“CAROLE KING: HOME AGAIN – LIVE IN CENTRAL PARK, which presents musical icon Carole King’s triumphant May 26, 1973 homecoming concert on The Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park before an estimated audience of 100,000. The complete multi-camera 16mm footage filmed and recorded by Lou Adler in 1973 has never before been released.” Click the image below to watch the film’s trailer!
TICKETS ARE REALLY MOVING NOW! MIDWEST PREMIERE of WRONG REASONSwith visiting director (and Middletown, Ohio native) Josh Roush. “When an ambiguously intentioned masked man kidnaps a drug addicted punk singer, it triggers a police investigation as well as a media circus.” This film was exec-produced by and stars Kevin Smith. It will screen Saturday, February 4 at Noon, and ticket are $12.50 each – available now! Click the image below to watch the film’s trailer.
“On February 9, 2023, at 6:00 pm, The Miami Valley School will present PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR: BEYOND THE MASK. The filmmaker, Frederick Lewis, a professor at Ohio University, will be on hand to introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion. The screening, which is presented through The Miami Valley School’s Speaker Series, is free and open to the public. Interested guests may register online at this LINK. BEYOND THE MASK is a feature-length documentary on the life and legacy of the first African American poet/writer to gain international fame. Born to former slaves in Dayton, Ohio, Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) is best remembered for his poem “We Wear The Mask” and for lines from “Sympathy” that became the title of Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. More than eight years in the making, BEYOND THE MASK received major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities with additional support from Ohio Humanities.” (taken from press notes)
Among so many surprises with this year’s Academy Award nominations was the inclusion of Andrea Riseborough for “Best Actress” in a film called TO LESLIE. We think this film is worth seeing on the big screen…not only because of Riseborough’s incredible performance, but because it also stars Dayton’s own Allison Janney. TO LESLIE will screen 2 times in February – Sunday, Feb. 12 at 4:00 and Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30. Tickets are on sale now! Click the image below to watch the film’s trailer.
ONLY A COUPLE TICKETS REMAIN! “While there is nothing wrong with the de rigueur heart-shaped box of chocolates or calling in that dedicated love song to Delilah on your way home from work, THE NEON is giving you a chance to change it up this Valentine’s Day with a date night showing of the 25th Anniversary of YOU’VE GOT MAIL. In addition to the movie, the cocktail and desserts will be a nod to NYC’s Café Lalo, an iconic landmark restaurant made popular by the movie in the 90s. Tickets are available now until sold out. $25 includes a movie ticket, an adult beverage (wine, beer, or house cocktail), a small popcorn, and dessert from the former owner of St. Anne the Tart (and current board member at THE NEON), Megan Smith. YOU’VE GOT MAIL has two local ties as well! Dave Chappelle played Kevin Jackson, best friend to Tom Hanks’s character, Joe Fox. Additionally, Mary Beth Kuhn of Germantown was an art director on the film.” (Megan Smith) Tickets are available at our box office or via our official site!
“Homelessness is a Humanitarian Crisis in the United States. Join us for a screening of LEAD ME HOME – Feb. 15 at 4pm. More than 500,000 people experience homelessness every night in America. LEAD ME HOME is a short documentary (40 minutes) that tells these real-life stories giving audiences a rare, in-depth look at the scale, scope and diversity of what it means to be unsheltered and unhoused while calling into question uninformed attitudes and outmoded polices. After watching the film, the audience will hear from members of our community facing housing insecurity and have an opportunity to learn more about what we can do as a community around housing justice. In lieu of an entrance fee, we are collecting donations of socks and toiletries for the unhoused in our community. Donations will be given to St. Vincent Shelter. This screening is part of a week-long focus on housing in our community beginning with the opening of the National Building Association’s Eviction Exhibit on February 13, 2023 at the Dayton Metro Library.” (Sponsored by Kathy Rowell, Professor of Sociology at Sinclair in Support of St. Vincent Shelter System in Dayton.) To reserve your spot, please visit this eventbrite LINK.
“Did you know there are more than 32,000 mothers in America, many from conservative, Christian backgrounds, who fully accept their LGBTQ+ children? They call themselves “mama bears” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.” This special, one-time screening of MAMA BEARS, with visiting director Daresha Kyi (who graduated from The Miami Valley School), will take place on Saturday, March 11 at Noon…and tickets are Free due the generosity of The Hope Collective – the church that utilizes our auditoriums for worship on Sunday mornings. (Doors will open on March 11 at 11:15 – tickets will be first-come, first-serve that day.)
National Theatre Live’s presentation of THE CRUCIBLE is heading to our big screen this March.The classic Arthur Miller play is “a five-star scorcher” writes THE SUNDAY TIMES, and TIME OUT writes “It doesn’t get much more spectacular.” “A witch hunt is beginning. Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women in Salem suddenly find their words have an almighty power. As a climate of fear, vendetta, and accusation spreads through the community, no one is safe from the trial. Lyndsey Turner (HAMLET) directs this contemporary new staging, designed by Tony Award-winner Es Devlin (THE LEHMAN TRILOGY).” (ByExperience) Tickets are $12.50 each and available now. Wed, March 15, 2023 at 7:00 and Sun, March 19 at 4:00
We were delighted to partner with The Human Race Theatre Company during their 2019/2020 Season – “Women of Influence: Their Power, Passion & Pitfalls.” PNC came on board to sponsor our spectacular line-up of films that spoke to each play in The Human Race’s season – and then the world closed down after our third screening. We are now pleased to announce that we finally have a new date for BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHE – Wednesday, March 29 at 7pm. If you purchased a pass for this series, it will still be honored for this screening. Otherwise, tickets will be $10 each – available starting this Friday. Click the image below to watch the film’s trailer.
   

SHOWTIMES for Wednesday, Feb. 1 – Thursday, Feb. 9:

LIVING (PG-13): 1 Hr 42 Min

Wednesday & Thursday (Feb 1 & 2): 2:50, 5:10, 7:30

Fri, Sat, Sun (Feb 3-5): 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30

Monday-Thursday (Feb 6-9): 2:50, 5:10, 7:30

WOMEN TALKING (PG-13) 1 Hr 44 Min

Wednesday (Feb 1): 3:00, 5:15

Thursday (Feb 2): 3:00, 5:20, 7:40

Friday (Feb 3): 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 7:40

Saturday (Feb 4): 3:00, 5:20, 7:40

Sunday (Feb 5): 12:40, 3:00, 5:20, 7:40

Monday-Wednesday (Feb 6-8): 3:00, 5:20, 7:40

Thursday (Feb 9): 3:00

CAROLE KING: HOME AGAIN (NR) 1 Hr 20 Min

Wednesday (Feb 1): 7:30

WRONG REASONS (NR) 1 Hr 40 Min

Saturday: 12:00

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR: BEYOND THE MASK (NR) 2 Hrs

Thursday: 6:00

COMING SOON:

(All Dates Are Tentative. Dates Often Move And Sometimes Disappear)

TBD: TURN EVERY PAGE

Feb 12 & 16 – TO LESLIE (2 screenings only!)

Feb ? – EO

Feb. ? – ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Feb 17 – OSCAR SHORTS

Feb 24 – EMILY

TV Show Filmed in Springfield Airs Tonight

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This past May and June The Greater Dayton Film Commission (FilmDayton) worked with an LA production company that was shooting a tv pilot around Springfield.  As it often happens, the commission is working blind, not fully aware of what the production will be and with a non-disclosure act, that does not allow them to talk about the project until the production is ready to share the information publicly.  They use the filmmakers vision and their contacts  to help them secure  the appropriate spots.  One of the locations they secured for them was CO-Hatch.

Tonight, (Dec 14th) ABC, Disney and John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Company will debut the pilot filmed this past June. Here’s how they describe the show:

“For the last 13 years, chorus director David Brown has brought together complete strangers and healed communities by asking them to simply join a chorus. In this inspirational one-hour special, EGOT winner John Legend is calling upon David to bring his magic to his hometown of Springfield, Ohio. Will David be able to transform a fractured community into a powerhouse chorus in just one week? Audiences will see the magic of what happens when you invite complete strangers to sing together in this all-new special.”

While we’re excited to see “Finding Harmony” FilmDayton is even more excited to share the economic impact a shoot like this brings to the region.  They spent $58, 276 on hotel rooms for their crew of 55, rented $16, 381 of vehicles, contracted over $18,000 in catering and rented about $30,000 in local equipment.

Watch the pilot of the show on ABC’s Facebook page.

FilmDayton’s mission is to promote the art, craft and business of film in the region.  You can support FilmDayton by becoming a member.  Follow them on Facebook, where they often list cast and crew calls.  List your property as a possible film location in their database.

Family Holiday Film Series Returns to The Neon

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In what has become an annual December tradition, The Neon Movies will host the FAMILY HOLIDAY FILM SERIES

Admission for these films is FREE for children 12 and under and only $2 for guests over 12. Tickets will become available at 10:15am each Saturday, and there will be 1 ticket per person (aka – all patrons must be present in order to claim/purchase tickets).
Here’s this year’s line-up:

December 3 at 11am – HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

December 10 at 11am – ELF

On Christmas Eve, a baby at an orphanage crawls into Santa Claus’ sack and is unknowingly taken back to the North Pole. After the infant is discovered at the workshop, the elves name him Buddy after his diaper’s brand label and Papa Elf adopts him. Buddy is accepted by the elf community and grows up thinking that he is an elf, but soon learns he is really a human. Papa Elf explains that Buddy was born to Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells, and that Susan put him up for adoption prior to her death. Walter now works as a children’s book publisher at the Empire State Building in New York City and is unaware of Buddy’s existence. Santa reveals that Walter is on the Naughty List due to his selfishness, but suggests Buddy could help redeem him with some Christmas spirit.

December 17 at 11am – WHITE CHRISTMAS

On Christmas Eve in Europe in 1944, at the height of World War II, former Broadway star Captain Bob Wallace and aspiring performer Private Phil Davis entertain the 151st division with a soldier’s show. The men have just received word their beloved Major General Thomas F. Waverly has been relieved of his command. Waverly arrives and delivers an emotional farewell. The men send him off with a rousing chorus of “The Old Man”. After Waverly departs, enemy bombers attack the area and everyone takes cover. Phil pulls Bob away from a collapsing wall and is wounded by debris. Bob asks how he can pay back Phil for saving his life, and Phil suggests they become a duo act. Bob is not fond of the idea but feels obliged to agree.

All seating  is general admission with no assigned or reserved seats.

The Neon

Neon Movies on Fifth Street

130 East Fifth Street
Dayton, OH 45402

Office Phone: (937) 222-8452
For Showtimes: (937) 222-7469(SHOW)

Dayton Dinner Theater announces 2022-2023 Schedule

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Get excited, The Dayton Dinner Theater is back with its much-awaited interactive movie party season for 2022 – 2023! It’s a great way to spend time with family and friends when the days are short and nights are long. Make the most of it by sipping the sublime themed drinks with your loved ones, while flaunting your movie-themed attire. What more do you need when you can have classic movies, gourmet food, and specially concocted drinks to enjoy with your friends, family, or that special someone?

What to expect from a Dayton Dinner Theater event? First off, make sure you indulge in the creatively themed food provided by Brock Masterson catering. While you indulge in the delicacies, you can feast your ears to live music and soundtrack presentations featuring acts by the likes of The University of Dayton Jazz Ensemble and acclaimed musician and producer Denny Wilson.

A big improvement from year’s past is the themed cocktail selections.The Brightside’s new Bar Manager, Suzy Switzer, has come up with a whole range of delicious offerings.

That’s not all. As it’s an interactive movie party, organizers will feature famous interactive quote and fun participation activities, pop-up fun facts, and our not-so-famous, but equally entertaining, theme-spotting drinking game. Enjoy some lip-smacking-themed desserts while you’re at it! To add the cherry on the cake, there are special surprises for the top costume contest participants.

Now let’s talk about the prices. “Inflation may have gone up, but our tickets have stayed the same price :)”. Book your tickets at just $35 but with so many added entertaining activities. Visit www.daytondinnertheater.com for more information. To make sure that we can serve you with all our scrumptious food, tickets must be booked in advance.

The annual movie series commences on Wednesday, November 30 with an all-time holiday favorite movie Elf at The Brightside Music & Event Venue from 6-9pm.

This year’s list is dominated by comedy and clever and witty classics. See the full schedule below.

Dayton Dinner Theater Season Schedule:

Wednesday, Nov 30, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater premiere featuring Elf movie party and live music

Wednesday, Dec 7, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring the 80’s classic Christmas Vacation & live music

Sunday, Dec 11, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring A Christmas Story and live music

Sunday, Jan 15, 2023 – Dayton Dinner Theater premiere featuring Raiders of the Lost Ark

Sunday, Jan 29, 2023 – Dayton Dinner Theater premiere featuring The Princess Bride & live jazz

Sunday, Feb 12, 2023 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Grease & live music

Sunday, Feb 26, 2023 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Dazed and Confused

Sunday, March 12, 2023 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring The Big Lebowski

*All events take place at The Brightside Music & Event Venue located at 905 E 3rd St, Dayton.

For more information, visit: www.daytondinnertheater.com

McCoy on Movies: TILL

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Academy Award contender is unflinching, unapologetic in its depiction of a definitive American tragedy, turning point

“This is one of the few smiles that anyone watching this film will see given the gripping, emotional impact of this film.” Mamie Till Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler, left) prepares to send her son Emmitt (Jalyn Hall, right) on his ill-fated trip to visit family in Mississippi in a scene from TILL, directed by Chinonye Chukwu, released by Orion Pictures. Credit: © 2022 ORION RELEASING LLC. All rights reserved.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

DIRECTOR: Chinonye Chukwu

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Douglas Thompson, Kevin Carroll, Tosin Cole, Whoopi Goldberg, Roger Guenveur Smith, Frankie Faison and Haley Bennett

 

THE BACK STORY: Based on one of the most infamous incidents of lynching in American if not world history, TILL stars Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till Mobley. Living happily in Chicago, she has her own apartment, a good job and a loving son in Emmitt (Jalyn Hall), a happy-go-lucky as can be 14 year-old excited to soon visit his cousins in Mississippi. 
 

Arriving down south, Emmitt is not accustomed to the dangers of being black in 1955. That all changes, however, when he inadvertently whistles at Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett), a store owner who doesn’t take kindly to his “You look like a movie star” compliment. Want to know who else didn’t take it as a compliment? The white lynch mob that brutalized Emmitt to the point a closed casket funeral was recommended after his body was found in the Tallahatchie River.

Mamie, however, wanted the world to see what hate did to her only child. And oh would the world ever see …

THE REVIEW: Emmitt Till. Martin Luther King, Jr. Medgar Evers. Tamir Rice. Phillip Pernell. Yusef Hawkins. Eric Garner. The Tulsa, Okla. massacre of “Black Wall Street.” Amadou Diallo. Michael Brown. Philando Castile. Trayvon Martin. Ahmaud Arbery. And despite what Kanye West and others like him think, George Floyd. And these are just the names I can name off the top of my head in my 40+ years on earth. All assassinated, lynched and/or killed in – and this is as loosely as the word can be used – “controversial” circumstances. All black men.
Like me.
According to the NAACP, nearly 5,000 lynchings occurred in the United States between 1882-1968. And those are just the known instances. In TILL, the audience receives brutal reminders for the latter 80 minutes of the film of the savagery, brutality, frustration, exhaustion, pain and injustice that continue – albeit less overtly and fortunately nowhere near as frequently – to this day. Unfortunately, the film’s unflinching portrayals of one of the most societally impactful events in modern American history, through no fault of its own, inadvertently result in a problem the film cannot fix. For in showcasing all the aforementioned savagery, brutality, frustration, exhaustion, pain and injustice, the film inherently runs into problems: (1) The risk of feeling like 2 hours of cinematic torture for African Americans and (2) making white audiences at the very least leaving feeling guilty and, at the very worst, invoking all the common privileged responses (“That was decades ago,” “We don’t have lynchings today,” “Movies like this just make things worse,” etc.”) one might expect.
When reviewing films, I try to leave myself out of analysis as much as possible. With TILL, I can’t deny just how inherently connected my world is to his some 67 years after his murder. My parents were children at the same time Emmitt Till was alive. Like Till’s mother, my mother worries every time I travel to a different city where she isn’t there to protect me. Like Till’s would-be adoptive father, my own dad worries whenever I jog in a neighborhood where the main demographics don’t match mine. (And we won’t even get into dating in a post O.J. Simpson world.) And like Emmitt, I am my parents’ only child and they both know they can’t protect me from the world at large, despite how much they try.
TILL is one of those type of films where you wish the people that need to see it the most (self-destructive African-Americans falling into the trappings of a system where they are behind the proverbial 8-ball in far too many circumstances; whites who deny what I just wrote to justify their position or deny a societal advantage). Instead, the audiences most likely to see are older blacks who for whom the Civil Rights movement is not part of a potentially-banned textbook, but their own history and liberal whites who want to actually understand and avoid repeating history. Then again, watching the film and realizing – as it details after the final haunting frame – that the Emmitt Till Antilynching Act DID NOT BECOME LAW UNTIL THIS MARCH may have the reverse effect of the inspiration it seeks to provide.
With apologies to the film’s cast and crew, TILL is a beautifully directed, emotionally gripping film that I cannot and will not ever be able to watch again. Deadwyler will be a deserving Academy Award nominee for her performance and Chukwu should receive Best Director consideration as well.
However, given America’s history of being built on the the backs of and benefitting from black pain, I just don’t have it in me to sit through another screening of TILL. For after years of important yet heartbreaking experiences watching (and not watching) so many films of its ilk, I don’t have any more grief I can afford to expend for the sake of my mental health.
In a world where stories like this, this and this are still happening today, I just can’t. TILL is an excellent movie I can’t watch because the instances of life imitating art imitating life are simply too much to bear. Throw in the fact Till’s murderers got away with it and then ADMITTED THEY DID IT LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER HIS DEATH and Carolyn Bryant will likely NEVER have to face the music for her role in Till’s death and I just can’t take it. At the screening I was at, there was nary a dry eye in the house (for the most part). I, however, felt myself beginning to tear up and then stopped. I just don’t have any more black grief I can expend.
Then again, maybe I should apologize to the memory of Ms. Till. After all, my mother and father still have their son and I am living in a world poor Emmitt’s death (I pray) has been made better as a result of his tragedy.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
 

 

 

 

McCoy on Movies: HALLOWEEN ENDS

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Horror franchise delivers most definitive chapter yet to finally bring closure to the story of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers

“This is not the yoga class I signed up for!” Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) battles her longstanding nemesis Michael Myers a.k.a. “The Shape” (James Jude Courtney) in a scene from co-writer/producer/director David Gordon Green’s final(?) installment in his trilogy, HALLOWEEN ENDS. Credit: Ryan Green/Universal Pictures © 2022 Universal Pictures

 

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
 

 

DIRECTOR: David Gordon Green

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jamie Lee Curtis, James Jude Courtney, Rohan Campbell, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, Michael Barbieri, Marteen, Destiny Mone, Joey Harris, Keraun Harris and Nick Castle

 

THE BACK STORY: Over the course of 40+ years, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has been obsessed with one man: Michael Myers (a.k.a. “The Shape,” portrayed by both James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle), who has been killing people left and right in their (thankfully fictional) Haddonfield, Ill since the 70s.
Editor’s note: Halloween started in the late 70s and it’s now the early 2020s … But he’s only been killing people for 40+ years … The math does pan out.
Now, Michael hasn’t been seen since escaping from a mental facility and going on a murder spree where he LITERALLY WHOOPS AN ENTIRE TOWN’S COLLECTIVE *** as seen in Halloween Ends. But while Michael’s rampage became the biggest story in Haddonfield since his original one, the shattered town seemingly has needed a new boogeyman to take his place to direct their hate.

Enter Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell).

Babysitting Halloween night in 2019 for a local rich couple, an accident occurs that forever changes his life. Now, in Michael’s absence and Laurie’s lack of activity – she is writing a book and trying to move on with her life – Corey’s unfortunately become the town pariah, except to everyone but one person: Allyson (Andi Matichak), Laurie’s granddaughter that she has taken in following the murder of her parents by – you guessed it – Michael.

But as Allyson and Corey get closer, Laurie starts to notice a darkness in the latter that makes her fearful of what’s to come. But since Michael hasn’t been seen in an olympics and Halloween is approaching, she might want to be a little more concerned about a man who has gone through more kitchen knives than a season of Top Chef …

 

THE REVIEW: If you’ve ever seen me do stand-up in the month of October, there’s a chance you’ve seen me eviscerate just how silly the previous installments of the modern Halloween trilogy is. From the over-the-top characters, bad foreshadowing dialogue and ridiculous yet gory kills and plots, the first two installments were for die-hard fans only.
Now, with Halloween Ends, we get an unexpected story-rich tale that is still loaded with over-the-top characters, gory/zany kills … And what may be the most definitive chapter of the series … to date.
Look, when you walk into a Halloween movie, it’s best to turn off the logical part of your brain. Halloween Kills, however, does a little to acknowledge how some of the past films have been a bit wild (to say the least), really trying to build up the idea of what makes someone evil (there are two types of evil as Laurie narrates for the audience). Likewise, the character development is unusually strong for a Halloween movie, which is weird since at least 9 out of 10 people that will be watching are coming to watch Michael fight Laurie (or vice-versa) and see who wins and/or survives (if either does).
But all those things aside, make no mistake: While Halloween Ends is the easily the best of the modern trilogy, it’s best-served for the die hards that love Halloween (either the movie or this film series), the Michael Myers character (there’s no real re-inventing the wheel there), Jamie Lee Curtis or just have to find closure after seeing the first two movies. Will all of them like it? Will all of them hate it? The answer remains to be seen – but there is definitely an ending.
Otherwise, the best thing about Halloween Ends is that it ends – and it is a definitive ending as you can have for a horror movie and a franchise that should by all accounts be over once its namesake holiday passes.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

 

Englewood Cinema Celebrates First Year Under New Ownership

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Cory & Alyssa Floyd are celebrating their first anniversary of owning and operating the Englewood Cinema.  They were living in Tennessee, and Cory had always dreamed of owning a movie theater.  He was researching theaters, saw the Englewood location was for sale on a Monday night, called the owner on Tuesday and came to Dayton and bought the theater on Sunday.  Alyssa shared that they bought a house in Dayton on the drive back to to Tennessee and put their house up for sale at the same time.

They officially took over on Oct 4, 2021.  They are celebrating this weekend by hosting the 27th year of Horrorama:

 

We asked them what they have learned about running the theater in the last year. Alyssa shared that she’s learned to be cautious of the popcorn popper, having burned herself a lot.

She also shared that working with your best friend and husband is sometimes complicated, but there’s no one else she’d want to spend time with.

Cory shares that the community has been incredibly supportive of their efforts and that he loves how some of the moments he’s been able to share with their customers. He tells of a recent man who explained he’d seen his first movie at the theater as a youngster and he’d brought his young son to experience his first movie there as well. Alyssa loves how all the small businesses in their strip center stick together sharing how  one weekend while showing Batman their popcorn machine broke down, and because she couldn’t leave the theater, her neighbor Brent from Home Sweet Home went out and bought them a popcorn maker.

The Floyds said things have been going well, and the theater which was originally a second run theater, but Covid has made the studio’s more willing to work with the independent theater’s and now, for the first time ever, Englewood Cinema is showing first run films. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be opening there in November.  However when they get these first run movies, they have to commit to showing them exclusively for 2 or 3 weeks.

As owners, Alyssa and Cory work at the theater a lot.  This weekend they anticipate 16-18 hour days, but both say they love the business and it’s their baby, so their are willing to work for what they call their dream, but it often means naps on the futon in the projector booth. Their long work days don’t leave them a lot of time to explore the Dayton region, but they’ve found some favorite restaurants like Stoney’s Munchie Bar and Cafe Terra Mediterranean Cuisine.
They told me they’d found the 937 event guide and have used it to help explore arts and craft fairs and look forward to visiting the Ohio RenFest next weekend.

Of course I had to ask them about their favorite movies, Cory’s is The Cameraman (Buster Keaton) and Halloween (John Carpenter).  “Halloween I love and it was the first movie we got to play here at the cinema when we took over,” says Cory. Alyssa’s is Easy Livning- a 1937 black and white screwball comedy, but they both agree that Whiplash is another favorite.  They even screened it for their guests after the 2017 wedding.  The Floyd’s look forward to many more years together operating the theater and also hope to have more time to explore their  Dayton region.

Englewood Cinema

320 National Road #21
Englewood, Ohio 45322

(937) 998-8188

Convention Center to Launch Halloween Movie Series

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The Dayton Convention Center will launch is 1st Annual Halloween Movie Series. Movies will begin Saturday, October 1st and run through Saturday, October 22nd in the Theater of the Convention Center. There will be several movies at various times to appeal to the entire community.

“We are delighted to add to the line-up of fall festivities, here in Dayton. We hope to see old friends and new faces this October and we present our inaugural Halloween Movie Series,” shared Kelli Donahoe, General Manager of the DCC. “By offering multiple dates and movies for all ages, we are looking to provide an alternate option to your typical movie experience.”

“In addition to our concession offerings, Warped Wing will be on-site offering a complimentary tasting of their local craft brew during the evening movies, as a way to enhance your visit,” added Donahoe. “There will also be trivia and prizes at the start of each movie. So don’t be late!”

The Dayton Convention Center

22 E. Fifth Street
Dayton, OH 45402

937.535.5300

Tickets are on sale now @ Tickets & Deals (daytonconventioncenter.com)

Adults = $10.00, Children 12 & Under = $5.00

Over 600 seats in the theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dayton Independent Film Festival is This Weekend

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The Dayton Independent Film Festival (DIFF) celebrates regional filmmaking and stories from Midwestern filmmakers who offer their DIFFerent and unique vision. This weekend they host their 3rd annual Film Festival at The Neon Movies.  The festival will showcase films from established professionals, emerging filmmakers, and students.  Celebrating impactful stories from narrative, documentary or animation— everyone has a story to tell, DIFF cannot wait to showcase these films and filmmakers.

Melanie Reindl, Director of Programming festival explains that this started out a class a the Univeresity of Dayton and has now grown into a 3 day festival that runs Fri, Sept 23- Sun, Sept 25th.

Opening night on Friday starts with a welcoming ceremony for all our filmmakers on the Neon patio  followed by a local shorts 7pm screening,  from documentary to drama—that celebrates stories and filmmakers from Dayton that includes:

SHATTERED: A City Under Pressure
Directed by UD Documentary Class

What was once a booming city of innovation and creation has seen its once former glory eroded by time and circumstance. Called home by bright minds such as the Wright Brothers, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and John H. Patterson, Dayton, OH was a homing beacon for creative minds with a drive to better themselves and their community.

Paul Laurence Dunbar: An American Poet
Directed by Kane Alan Stratton

Dayton, Ohio 1903. A world renowned poet delivers the incomparable verse, “I know why the caged bird sings.”

Stowaway
Directed by Benjamin Hollinger

Sam, a financially struggling car thief, and his partner Mia find a toddler in the back seat of the car they just stole. Now Sam must decide between protecting the toddler or giving up the car that could save his family from financial crisis.

SIA
Directed by Ashlei Shyne

”Sia” is a poetic short film that follows Nola & Sia, a Black queer female couple whose vibrant life together is upended when a global pandemic threatens to tear apart their entire world.

Analog Rainbow
Directed by Henry Czerwonka

A young woman plagued by her past gets a chance to revisit her earliest memories and discovers her childhood may not have been as carefree as she remembers.

Nonfiction Shorts
Saturday kicks off with nonfiction shorts from 1-3pm:

Safe Haven
Directed by Faith Marsh

Monica Kelsey turns her own past into a passion for saving abandoned babies.

A Near Constant and Escalating State of Panic
Directed by Jason Polevoi

A young father grapples with the pressures of modern parenthood during a 10-day COVID-19 quarantine.

The Year That Passed

Directed by Grace Simmons

The Year That Passed (2019) is an animation about loss, addiction and togetherness. Chronicling three successive, deeply traumatic events, this narrative explores grief as a recurrent process with its own unique setbacks and silver linings.

Memoria(l)

Directed by Ian Kelly

This beautifully animated documentary takes us back to Memorial Day, 1937, when Chicago police killed ten striking steelworkers. How do we remember this history?

Never Again Para Nadie


Directed by Anna Feder, Dan Frank, Justin Reifert

A peaceful demonstration in August, 2019 coordinated by a Jewish-led organization, Never Again Action, attempted to shut down a for-profit prison holding ICE detainees, only to be met with violence by correctional officers. In the smallest and poorest city in Rhode Island, citizens took a stand and learned how difficult it is to challenge the status quo.

Sons of Toledo


Directed by Monty Cole

After receiving the early morning news of his younger brother’s murder, a mourning barber pushes through the muddy waters of grief to find the courage to do the impossible – give his brother one last cut.

Fiction Shorts 1

Followed by Fiction Shorts from 4-6pm

Last Chance Moms

Directed by Mandy Fabian

Two best friends in their 40s, one pregnant and unexpectedly dumped by her man-child boyfriend, the other unable to get pregnant despite countless efforts, decide to raise a baby together.

Snow Globe & The Cat

Directed by Rick Page

‘Twas the Day after Christmas, when all through the house, ex-wife Lydia returns to get her revenge on Frank. Poor bastard.

Got Your Back

Directed by Mitch Hudson

In the 1960s, a group of high school buddies decide to climb their local water tower… Based on a true memoir, and produced in loving memory of Steve Cruea and Jim “Turd” Swanson.

Don’t Worry About It

Directed by Melissa Kong

After her father’s death, a young woman’s obsessive-compulsive disorder spirals out of control. She enters an intensive therapy program, where she must learn to deal with his death and OCD before it takes over her life.

A Balanced Breakfast

Directed by J.W. Cox

A neurotic, workaholic father sets out to find his favorite childhood cereal during an unexpected day off with his 13 year old daughter.

The Guitar Thief
Directed by Miguel Lepe Jr

Two mariachi players cope with rent increases, a changing neighborhood and a stolen guitar.

Fiction Shorts 2
And then another block of fiction shorts from 7-9pm:

Wild Card

Directed by Tipper Newton

Two strangers are brought together by a video dating service.

Gone Gray

Directed by Spaceship, Koura Linda

An under cover Special Agent finds herself in an interrogation room, facing off an interrogator determined to get her to give up. She will never let go of what she wants the most – and she will let no one stand in her way to get there.

One Foot In

Directed by Eric Schabla, Jack Whaley

A pair of eccentric graverobbers navigate the land and their tenuous kinship in search of the score of a lifetime.

Recuperación de los Caídos (Recovery of the Fallen)
Directed by Curtis James Matzke

A lone man wanders a barren landscape on a foreign planet, salvaging items off of bodies that have fallen to the surface. Recuperación de los Caídos was shot and produced in the Canary Islands under the advice and mentorship of director Werner Herzog.

We Are Nowhere

Directed by J. Cody Spellman

After aliens abduct her husband, Minnie receives a visit from a mysterious man in black.

Last and First Woman
Directed by Adnan Siddique

A passionate astronomy student disengages from her college curriculum upon the discovery of an illusive artifact.

Special Presentation: Dayton High School Shorts
Sunday the festival concludes with a special free presentation of shorts from local Dayton High School students from noon – 1:30pm:

The lineup includes:

Catcalling by Leigha Strozier
Reflections of Myself by Makayla Curington
Deceiver by Skylar Tucker
Valentine’s Day by Caleb Earick
Mortem by Danaysha Woodard
Barber by Danaysha Woodard
Keys by Joshua Molina Guiterrez
Cat by Caleb Earick

Get tickets for the Dayton Independent Film Festival online or at the Neon’s  box office. The  2022 Winning films have been announcned:

Best Local Film: Analog Rainbow
Best Student Film: Stowaway
Best Fiction Film: Don’t Worry About It
Best Documentary Film: Memoria(l)
Best Innovative Technique: Sons of Toledo

 

Celebrate National Cinema Day with $3 Movies

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On National Cinema Day, which this year falls on Saturday, September 3rd,  movie tickets will be just $3 in the vast majority of American theaters as part of a newly launched promotion to lure moviegoers back to the theaters. Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest weekends in theaters.

The Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners,  announced the nationwide discount day in more than 3,000 theaters and on more than 30,000 screens. Major chains, including AMC, Cinemark and  Regal Cinemas, are participating, as are all major film studios. In participating theaters, tickets will be no more than $3 for every showing, in every format.

“After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” said Jackie Brenneman, Cinema Foundation president, in a statement. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”

After more than two years of pandemic, movie theaters rebounded significantly over the summer, seeing business return to nearly pre-pandemic levels. Films like “Top Gun: Maverick,””Minions: Rise of Gru,“”Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Jurassic World Dominion” pushed the domestic summer box office to $3.3 billion in ticket sales as of Aug. 21, according to data firm Comscore. That trails 2019 totals by about 20% but exhibitors have had about 30% fewer wide releases this year.

Cinemark/Rave Theatres are taking the $3 price point even further, offering the following concession specials:

Organizers of National Cinema Day described the event as a trial that could become an annual fixture. While some other countries have experimented with a similar day of cheap movie tickets, the initiative is the first of its kind on such a large scale in the U.S.

Cinemark Dayton South 16

195 Mall Woods Dr,
Dayton, OH  45449

(937) 435-1806

Cinemark the Greene 14 and IMAX
4489 Glengarry Dr
Beavercreek, OH 45440
(937) 429-4130

7737 Waynetowne Blvd,
Dayton, OH 45424

Little Art Theater

47 Xenia Avenue
Yellow Springs, OH 45387

937-767-7671

The Neon Movies

130 E 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402

 (937) 222-7469

Cinepolis

10251 Penny Lane at Austin Landing
Miamisburg, OH 45342

(937) 865-9716

McCoy on Movies: THIRTEEN LIVES

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Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen lead dramatic based on true events tale that should garner Academy Award contention

“Yes, there is more water up ahead … But luckily, no sharks!” (L to R) Colin Farrell as John Volanthen, Joel Edgerton as Harry Harris and Viggo Mortensen as Rick Stanton in THIRTEEN LIVES, directed by Ron Howard, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Vince Valitutti / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
 

 

DIRECTOR: Ron Howard

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Chris Jewel, Paul Gleeson, Thira ’Aum’ Chutikul, Sahajak ’Poo’ Boonthanakit, Popetorn ‘Two’ Soonthornyanakij, Thiraphat ’Tui’ Sajakul, Sukollawat ’Weir’ Kanarot and Pattrakorn ’Ploy’ Tungsupakul
THE BACK STORY: In 2018, a Thai soccer team of twelve boys and their head coach (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) ventured into a cave after practice. Then, much to their dismay, monsoon season started far earlier than expected, flooding the cave and trapping them inside. Once their families realized what had happened, their story captivated the nation and then the world, drawing attention from rescue volunteers around the globe.
Among those who find themselves motivated to help John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), the grizzled Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and anesthesiologist Harry Harris (Joel Edgerton), three veteran British cave divers. On a short list of recommended experts, the trio arrive on the scene only to discover things are far worse than they ever anticipated. But with a combination of help from the local governor (Sahajak ‘Poo’ Boonthanakit), the leader of his rescue team (Thira ‘Aum’ Chutikul) and the thousands of villagers and volunteers that come to help, the boys and their coach may have a chance to survive an extremely dire situation just yet.

THE REVIEW: There are two compliments I can give THIRTEEN LIVES that should sum up how good the Ron Howard-directed drama is: One, it’s the best work I’ve ever seen Colin Farrell do, which is high praise considering I have not always been a fan of his work (see Recall, Total) and two, the film at times feels more like a documentary than a scripted affair based on true events. There are no hokey “man up” inspirational speeches, the doubt, panic and anxiety of the situation is felt by multiple characters in a manner that never feels forced or inauthentic and the story, which is captivating on its own, features multiple insights into everything from Thai culture to the commonalities of humanity across borders. At no point in time do you feel like you’re watching characters; instead, you are watching people simply trying to help other people do something extraordinary than few of us likely could.
If the film has one flaw/deterrent, it would be it’s 2-and-a-half-hour run time. Then again, given the two-plus weeks the boys were stuck in the cave, that’s a small sacrifice to make to take in a compelling tale worthy of Academy Award consideration in several categories come next year.
THIRTEEN LIVES almost feels like a bit of a misnomer for the film title-wise. For the movie may begin with your focus on 13 lives, but by its end, it’s incredibly difficult to think about the thousands of people that came together to save them and others that will be inspired by their efforts.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):