In the thick of it
Oct. 24 — Happy Friday! It’s an ACTION packed newsletter this week, with not one, not two, but three reviews for your reading pleasure (there would have been four, but alas, my poor brain can only take so much and “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” will have to wait for next week).
A little inside baseball for you: we are fully in the thick of awards season, which means my inbox is constantly flooded with interview requests and screeners, both in-person and virtual. I do my best to line everything up with release dates (whether that’s in theaters or on streaming – one of today’s reviews releases on Netflix today). But during this time of year, when Oscar campaigns are already ramping up and every weekend is jammed with several new releases, it can get difficult! Between keeping track of release dates, embargoes (critics often can’t reveal their thoughts about a movie until a specific date), screening dates, and the expiration dates on virtual screeners (because they do, in fact, expire), my brain looks like an Excel spreadsheet fully consumed with CINEMA. My apologies if you try to talk to me about anything else before March 15, 2026.
Without further ado … Action!
💸 The Atlanta Film Festival has opened a Seed & Spark campaign to help raise money leading up to its 50th anniversary next year.
📽️ This week, TCM shone a spotlight on Atlanta’s beloved Plaza Theatre, the city’s oldest cinema. Check out the full spot on The Plaza’s Instagram.
🤝 Despite reports to the contrary, Warner Bros. Discovery announced this week it will be putting itself up for sale after “unsolicited interest” from multiple parties. The company reportedly rejected a second bid of $24 per share from Paramount, while other companies like Netflix and Comcast have also expressed interest.
💸 California is putting its money where its mouth is, pumping $342 million in tax credits into the production of big budget films such as the next installment of “Jumanji” and “Heat 2.”
🍿 The two-hour series finale of “Stranger Things” will play in theaters on Dec. 31, marking a change in tone from Netflix. Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria previously hand waved the idea back in September.
🪄 In other “Stranger Things” news, an immersive VR experience called “Stranger Things: Catalyst,” is now open at all Sandbox VR Atlanta locations.
👸 For Georgia Voice, Jim Farmer interviewed Nina West and Tomas Matos, two of the stars of the new film “Queens of the Dead.”
🏳️🌈 Out on Film is currently taking submissions for its Reel Resistance Fellowship program, a six-month program designed to empower LGBTQ+ filmmakers in Georgia. The application closes on Oct. 31.
This week’s newsletter includes conversations with filmmaker and YouTuber Chris Stuckmann about his new film “Shelby Oaks,” as well as with the cast and creative team behind the film “Re-Election.” We’ve also got those three reviews I mentioned up top: “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” “Blue Moon,” and “A House of Dynamite.” Plus, what’s playing at theaters this week and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break. We’ll be back with Spotlight next week!
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
Chris Stuckmann talks the making of horror movie ‘Shelby Oaks’
📼 In March 2022, Chris Stuckmann – primarily known for his film-centric YouTube channel – launched a Kickstarter campaign for his horror movie, “Shelby Oaks,” which he co-wrote with his wife, Samantha Elizabeth.
He eventually raised almost $1.4 million – not a small amount of money, but not a large one for a feature film. They may have beaten their fundraising goal, but the film still ran out of money before they were done shooting everything in the script. The crew carried on, and “Shelby Oaks” premiered at the genre-focused Fantasia International Film Festival in 2024.
When Neon eventually acquired the rights to the movie, they pitched in and paid for three extra days of filming, allowing Stuckmann to capture those missing scenes and ramp up the gore. The result is a solidly spooky debut about a paranormal investigator who goes missing and the sister who won’t stop searching for her.
🎢 I spoke with Stuckmann about the making of the film. You can check out that conversation here.
Flavor and fun starts in Chamblee!
SPONSORED BY DISCOVER DEKALB
🏈 In Chamblee, excitement tastes a little spicier. The 3rd Spot Watch Party Series turns every match into a celebration of global flavor and neighborly fun.
Watch the game, but stay for the vibe – local chefs, lively patios, and an atmosphere that’s pure community joy. Beyond the screen, explore international markets, public art, and live music that bring the city’s culture to life.
✨ Chamblee is where big moments and small delights meet, creating memories that linger long after the final play.
Adam Saunders goes back to school in ‘Re-Election’
🎒 For many of us, high school was a time of awkwardness and pain. But, for Jimmy Bauer (Adam Saunders) in “Re-Election,” it was the greatest time of his life.
In “Re-Election,” which was also written and directed by Saunders, Jimmy’s life post-high school hasn’t turned out exactly as planned. After his rival Manish Singh (Rizwan Manji) beat him out for senior class president, Jimmy took a downward spiral. He didn’t finish high school, and now, at the age of 42, works at his father’s memorabilia shop. But, after learning that Manish is running for a second term as the governor of Texas, Jimmy decides to go back to high school and finally become class president.
Generational differences and hijinks ensue, but “Re-Election” ultimately becomes a sweet story about finding yourself and the importance of putting the public first when it comes to public service. I spoke to Saunders, Manji, and Atlanta actor Bex Taylor-Klaus about the making of the movie.
🗳️ Check out that conversation here.
‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ is a far too literal exploration of The Boss
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🎸 There’s a story that Bruce Springsteen tells before “The River,” played live in 1985 at the LA Coliseum. The tale centers around his fraught relationship with his dad. He talks about the fights they used to have, and how he’d have to work up the nerve to go home and face him. He recalls how his father used to tell him that he couldn’t wait until the Army got him – they would make a man out of him.
Bruce eventually got his draft notice for Vietnam and took his physical, which he failed. When he got home and told his father what happened, his father simply said – despite all his talk of masculinity and war – “That’s good.”
There are moments in Scott Cooper’s “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” based on Warren Zanes’ 2023 book “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” that manage to capture the ephemeral quality this story holds. They dig into something deeper about Bruce (played in the film by Jeremy Allen White), his struggle with depression, his connection to his father, and to the world around him. But those moments are eclipsed by a far too literal interpretation of his life, bogged down by endless exposition and montages that only just scratch the surface.
🏍️ Check out my full review here.
‘Blue Moon’ and the desire to be loved
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🌙 “Nobody ever loved me that much.” This, according to Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), is the best line in “Casablanca.” At the beginning of Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon,” Larry – a diminutive, walking cigar –swirls into Sardi’s, where the afterparty for the premiere of the musical “Oklahoma!” will take place. First, he talks “Casablanca.” Later, he starts ragging on the show.
Lyricist Lorenz Hart was one half of the songwriting duo Rodgers and Hart, the other half made up by composer Richard Rodgers. You probably know him better as one half of the songwriting duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, the most famous team in musical theater history. “Blue Moon” stars Hawke as Larry on the worst night of his life – March 31, 1943, the night of the premiere of “Oklahoma!” “Oklahoma!” This was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first work together and, at the time, the biggest hit in musical history. Hart, who struggled with depression and alcoholism, would die just seven months later at the age of 48.
In “Blue Moon,” Larry’s affection for that line from “Casablanca” might as well stand in as the thesis of the film. The script, written by Robert Kaplow, beautifully captures the contradictions of the artist. Lorenz Hart was a man plagued by self-loathing and hubris in equal measure, a man whose propensity for drink tended to overshadow his talent for humor, rhythm, and rhyme. Within Lorenz Hart, Kaplow finds the innate tension of the human condition – our self-destructiveness, our complexity, and our desire to be loved.
Competence can’t shake down a nuclear bomb in ‘A House of Dynamite’
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
💣 A House of Dynamite” – written by Noah Oppenheim and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, her first feature film in nearly 10 years – is not really interested in making itself an allegory for the current state of American politics. The film follows the same events from three different angles, capturing the last 20 or so minutes before the bomb hits as numerous members of the U.S. security apparatus do their best to stop it.
There’s a very old school feeling to “A House of Dynamite,” almost like a cry back to the America of “The West Wing” – people trying to do their jobs to the best of their ability, their competence on full display (so, definitely not an allegory for our current administration).
But this is a surface-level read of a film that is trying to get at something much deeper and more harrowing. “A House of Dynamite” is far less concerned with competence, or lack thereof, and more concerned with what war means in the nuclear era. After all, it doesn’t matter how good you are at your job when you’re facing down nuclear annihilation.
🇺🇸 Check out my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
💔 “Regretting You” (pictured)
🎼 “Blue Moon”
🩺 “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
🎸 “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”
📼 “Shelby Oaks”
🌩️ “Frankenstein”
👑 “Queens of the Dead”
🏚️ “Remote”
Special Events:
🏴☠️ “The Fog” @ The Plaza (Friday)
🧟 “Day of the Dead” in 35mm @ The Plaza (Friday)
👻 “The People Under the Stairs” @ The Plaza (Saturday-Thursday)
🧛 Reel Friends & My Parents’ Basement: “Blade” in 35mm @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🚀 “WALL-E” feat. WALL-E Live @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🪰 “The Fly” @ The Tara (Saturday-Tuesday)
🪦 “Paranorman” @ The Tara (Saturday-Tuesday)
🔪 “Scream” Drive-In @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sunday)
🏨 “Hotel Transylvania” Drive-In @ Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sunday)
👄 “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” 50th Anniversary with Brad and Magenta @ Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Friday)
Lights, Camera, Action!
🎬 Self-proclaimed “nepo-daddy” (seven of his eight children have gone into show business) Stellan Skarsgård is one of my favorite actors. He’s just never not fun, as fascinating to watch in a Lars Von Trier film as he is in “Mamma Mia!” In his upcoming film, Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” he plays an artist father trying to connect with his daughter (Renate Reinsve) by offering her a part in a film. In this interview with Vulture, he talks about his connection to the role.
🏙️ The number of movies made about New York City is immeasurable, and that’s part of what makes listening to this episode of “The Big Picture” so much fun. During a live show, hosts Amanda and Sean invited a few guests on to draft their favorite New York City movies. Come for the movie trivia, stay for Griffin Newman’s rant about why “Sully” is a great New York City film.
⚔️ Ken Burns’ name is synonymous with documentary. No matter the subject – the Holocaust, the Dust Bowl, country music, Jackie Robinson – he’s probably covered it. His new docuseries, “The American Revolution: An Intimate History,” debuts on PBS Nov. 16 – and it tells the story from the perspectives of those often left out of the American narrative. Listen to Burns talk about the project on “Fresh Air” here.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.