Archives for : Susan Kamyab Stephens
10. Sorry, Baby- “Sorry, Baby” begins with the audience knowing something bad happened to Agnes (earnestly played by filmmaker Eva Victor). As the story unfolds, it is as if we are flies on a wall, witnessing one of the most aching and profoundly authentic depictions of the aftermath of sexual assault. “Sorry, Baby” is a compelling and honest dark comedy about significant trauma.
9. Twinless- This movie is about two grieving men, who bond in a support group for those who have lost their twins. They form a brotherly friendship, but it is soon revealed that all is not what it seems. That sounds more eerie than it needs to be. However, you never know where this story is headed. “Twinless” is a smart screenplay with the right balance of dark humor, and features Dylan O’ Brien’s best performance to date. This story cleverly explores the pain of grief and loneliness.
8. KPop Demon Hunters- The best animated feature of the year is also one of the best films of the year (with one of the best soundtracks of the year)! “KPop Demon Hunters” is a visually and musically captivating, creative tale about friendship, self-acceptance, and overcoming shame. The film features incredible voice acting (and singing) with a stunning representation of the Korean culture. Believe the hype with this one!
7. The Ugly Stepsister- It’s a twisted take on the classic Cinderella story I didn’t know I needed. “The Ugly Stepsister” is a comedic, body horror about the “physical perfection” pressured on young women looking for a husband. While the film can be gruesome at times, it is an unforgettable watch that brings a whole new and unexpected meaning to “happily ever after”.
6. Eternity- Set in an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity. Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with or her first love, who died young in war and has waited 67 years for her to arrive. This is a charming, original, and surprisingly moving romantic comedy with a thought-provoking message about what “eternal love” truly means.
5. F1- What I expected to be a loud, long, and hallow joy ride, turned into a swift, exhilarating, and gripping race! “F1” brings excitement and heart with some ’90s nostalgia to this true cinematic experience. Fantastic casting all around, including an incredible breakthrough performance by Damson Idris.
4. Sinners- I was pleasantly surprised to discover “Sinners” was a bluesy, bloody horror. This film goes beyond a typical “vampire movie”. Ryan Coogler masterfully layers his frightening story with interracial conflicts, cultural history, a powerful soundtrack, and riveting thrills. Michael B. Jordan gives TWO award-worthy performances along with the seamless ensemble cast.
3. Weapons- I can see why there was a bidding war over the “Weapons” spec script. I can’t remember the last time I was truly scared while watching a scary movie in theaters. I had a sense of panic and struggled to fall asleep that night. Zach Cregger is known for his wild horror, “The Barbarian”, but this time around, Cregger elevates his storytelling with a unique and sharp-witted screenplay. The film is wisely crafted with effective jump scares and an appropriate amount comic relief.
2. Materialists- It’s a refreshing spin on the rom-com genre. Lucy is an ambitious young New York City matchmaker, who finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex. The plot raises a lot of questions about dating in the modern world today. Primarily, what is it that you are not willing to compromise. It is deep and there is an ongoing discussion about the “math” of dating and how it can become a business transaction. How much does “love” truly factor in the equation? “Materialists” is an authentic perspective on dating, brilliantly told through Celine Song’s detail and insightful mind.
1. Superman- In the current state of superhero movie fatigue, it is rare that one could still blow me away. James Gunn has revitalized the genre, especially for DC, and given us a Superman (with a sense of humor) we can truly look up to. He has resuscitated the tired story and given life to this tale with a contemporary take told by a stellar cast, including a scene stealing dog. This Superman leads with kindness, so much so that in the heat of battle he will stop to save a squirrel. His desire to be accepted by society, while still staying true to his innate virtue, pulls at your heart and inspires hope.
The Rest of the Best:
11. Jay Kelly
12. Together
13. Predator: Badlands
14. My Dead Friend Zoe
15. One Battle After Another
16. Dead Man’s Wire
17. It Was Just an Accident
18. The Perfect Neighbor
19. Baltimorons
20. Bob Trevino Likes It
Top 5 Worst Film of 2024
5. Wolf Man – Shockingly boring and pointless.
4. The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Waste of a perfectly good cast, AGAIN! But oh, the CGI on that baby is unforgiveable.
3. Anemone – Nepotism at its worst. Can’t believe Daniel Day-Lewis came out of retirement for this one.
2. Black Phone 2 – A sequel was clearly not necessary, but this movie was just an insult to the incredible original film. I’m still so disappointed.
1. Ella McCay – What in the world was this movie? Was the script not finished? Did the editor’s quit midway through? I’m not sure what happened here, but it was bad. VERY bad.
Trevor’s Top 10
10. Twinless
9. F1
8. Weapons
7. Eternity
6. Predator: Badlands
5. Black Bag
4. Materialists
3. Sinners
2. The Long Walk
1. Superman
The award-winning Broadway show, Wicked returns for the second half of its whimsical musical, Wicked: For Good.
In Part 2, the now demonized Elphaba known as the Wicked Witch of the West has been exiled from Oz and is desperately fighting for the freedom of silenced animals and trying to expose the lies of The Wizard. While Glinda has been appointed as “The Good Witch” and a comfort to Oz, she is internally struggling, missing Elphaba, her best friend and being part of a charade to villainize her. Now unfortunately, Wicked: For Good fails to defy gravity like Wicked Part One, the first film, BUT as whole, the essential parts of the story are wonderful. There’s a beautiful message about friendship, love, acceptance, and being cautious of false heroes.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande soar once again. It is their chemistry and passion on-screen and off-screen that moves audiences and makes these films a success. Read full review here.
Rating: B
I had the great honor to speak with the incredible Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, & Mike Schur about the second season of the fun, lighthearted mystery comedy, “A Man on the Inside.”
“Eager to take on another big undercover case, Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson) gets his chance when a mysterious blackmailer targets Wheeler College president Jack Berenger (Max Greenfield), who enlists Charles to go undercover as a professor. Charles finds no shortage of possible suspects, but his attention gets diverted by free-spirited music teacher Mona (Mary Steenburgen), whose zest for life awakens feelings he thought he’d buried after the passing of his wife.”
“From creator Michael Schur, A MAN ON THE INSIDE is based on the documentary THE MOLE AGENT, a 2021 Oscar® nominee for Best Documentary feature.”
“A Man on the Inside” Season 2 streams on Netflix on November 20, 2025.
“In Your Dreams” follows Stevie and her brother Elliot as they journey through the bizarre landscape of their own dreams. If they can face a snarky giraffe, zombie breakfast foods, and the queen of nightmares, the Sandman will grant them their ultimate dream: the perfect family.
I had the opportunity to speak with the incredible cast about their thoughts on the meaning behind dreams, what helps them fall asleep, and much more!
“In Your Dreams” streams on Netflix on November 14, 2025.
“The OC agents are back and ready to establish their office as the top brokerage within the Oppenheim Group. As the competition heats up for some high-stakes listings, some may get burned as devastating rumors divide the team. While the office gets busier, Jason enlists agents from San Diego, but will the OGs of the OC let the new agents sink or swim?”
I had the opportunity to chat with the season 4 cast of “Selling the OC”, including Jason Oppenheim, Alex Hall, Polly Brindle, Austin Victoria, Fiona Belle, Tyler Stanaland, Ashtyn Zerboni, Kaylee Ricciardi, Brandi Marshall, Gio Helou. We discussed what they are looking forward to this season, who of the cast has made the most positive impact toward their experience on the show and more!
“Selling the OC” streams on Netflix on November 12.
Sydney Sweeney gives a knockout performance in an unbalanced narrative.
Not knowing Christy Martin’s story and uncertain of how Sweeney would pull off this role, I approached this film with caution. To my surprise, Sweeney’s transformation and gripping performance salvages the spotty storyline.
At first glance, “Christy” appears to be a stereotypical female boxer biopic – Christy starts her career from the bottom, has to prove herself as a worthy woman fighter, and build up to her life-changing match. Well, that element is partly there. Christy does start from the bottom, but the film portrays her success as quick ladder climb. She wins almost all her matches and becomes the first female fighter to sign with legendary promoter, Don King (Chad L. Coleman). Her toughest fight, and the real challenge of the story, is what she faces outside of the ring. Martin struggles with prejudice of her sexuality and to feel safe to be with a woman she loves. Her parent’s pressure her to steer away from this “lifestyle”, which is why Martin submits to a marriage with her bum trainer, Jim Martin (Ben Foster), who quickly shows his true, dark colors as an abusive, controlling, and manipulative husband.
There is a lot to unpack with Christy’s story and sadly, the film fails to show the complexity of Christy’s story. The lack of development and backstory of Christy’s relationship with her parents makes her motive to please them a fairly weak. From an audience perspective, they are terrible, especially her mother. They do not help her in any way, so one wonders why she even bothers to suffer in this trapped life to please them.
Perhaps, the biggest downfall, are the lackluster matches. While, they are decently shot fights, they carry no weight or emotion. Christy wins and we move on. I’m not sure if that’s what we are intended to feel, as we are much more concerned for Christy’s safety and well-being in her personal life.
It is not lost on audiences the irony of Christy choosing a “safe” and “acceptable” spouse, ended up being a spouse that almost murdered her. That aspect to this story stays with you and is absolutely heartbreaking.
As whole, “Christy” is an intriguing tale and the entire cast, especially Sweeney (who is quite possibly at her best) and Foster are captivating, however, the misdirection in the screenplay might take away from those compelling performances.
Rating: C+
“Christy” opens in theaters November 7, 2025
Regretting You is based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel. While there is a lot less gossip surrounding this film adaptation, there is also less interest.
Director Josh Boone, who previously captured our hearts in the romantic drama, The Fault in Our Stars teams up with writer Susan McMartin to bring this novel to life. The film stars McKenna Grace, Allison Williams and Dave Franco. Without giving too much away, we begin meeting two sisters, Morgan and Jenny, who are complete opposites. Morgan is the responsible one, while Jenny is the free spirit. Morgan is married to Chris, with whom she got pregnant in High School. They have a 17-year-old daughter, Clara. Jenny is engaged to her High School boyfriend, with whom she has a baby. After a fatal accident, both family’s lives are turned upside down. Morgan and Clara struggle with their now strained relationship, which forces them to confront shocking secrets and betrayals. Read Full review here.
Rating: C
“Regretting You” is currently playing.
While there are a few new horror flicks you can catch in theaters, “Stitch Head” is one you can take the whole family to see.
Based on the graphic novels by Guy Bass, the film follows Stitch Head (charmingly voiced by Asa Butterfield), a small creature who is awoken by a Mad Professor in his mountain lair, who is consumed by creating outrageous monsters he loses interest in as soon as he makes them. He assigns Stitch Head to protect his other creations from the townspeople of Grubbers Nubbin as he fears they will likely scare common folks and become the target of abolishment. While Stitch Head sticks to his duties, he suddenly finds joy by taking part in a travelling circus. His unconventional humor and unique personality add to the role he plays in the circus which initially scares attendees but then intrigues them to keep coming back. Read full review here.
Rating: B-
“Stitch Head” opens in theaters October 29, 2025
Most of us have a moment from High School we wish we could redo. It’s a time when trivial things feel much bigger than they are. Though high school can hold cherished memories, for some, it is hard to let go of the past.
In the new comedy “Re-Election”, Jimmy Bauer (director-writer-producer ADAM SAUNDERS), is still haunted by the loss of his race for class president during his senior year back in 1995, which caused him to drop out of school. Now, he’s in his 40’s working in a memorabilia store owned by his dad (Tony Danza). Finally fed up with his mediocre life, Jimmy decides to go back to school for his missing class credits — and with the hopes of winning the Senior Class President election he believes will make his life right. But a lot has changed in 30 years, luckily with the help of his new friend Noa (Bex Taylor-Klaus) and former classmate-turned-girlfriend Ama (Nathalie Kelley), Jimmy will learn there are things more important in life than winning.
Saunders pulls details from his personal life into his feature debut. He grew up in Texas and went to Richardson High School where he was class president. While in some ways it is a story we have seen before, Saunders’ personal ties provide a nostalgic and authentic presentation to a familiar story.
“Re-Election” has some solid laughs especially from Saunders and his on-screen rival, Rizwan Manji. Personally, I could have been entertained just watching these to banter for an hour and half. Thankfully, you are treated to a hilarious video of Manji during the credits.
In addition to the film’s humor, there is a lot of heart. Jimmy has a sweet relationship with his sister (Patty Guggenheim), who encourages him to finish High School and believes he is capable of much more than he gives himself credit for. And there is a touching friendship with Jimmy and his new classmate, Noa (Taylor-Klaus).
Moviegoers can benefit from this light-hearted and easy watch. “Re-Election” is a short and sweet, fun stroll down memory lane with an inspiring future.
Rating: B-