T. J. Callahan – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

WICKER – Review by T.J. Callahan

October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 T. J. Callahan Alex Huston Fischer, Alexander Skarsgård, Eleanor Wilson, Olivia Colman, Peter Dinklage, The Wicker Husband, Ursula Wills, Wicker

In this medieval materialistic age, it seems the fabric of choice is Wicker. At least in a small village of odd people and strange traditions, lost in time and far, far away where women are repressed and the men like it that way…until the lives of a few begin to splinter. It stars Olivia Colman as an odiferously ostracized fisherwoman who commissions the local basket maker (Peter Dinklage) to weave her a husband. Wicker is an unconventional love story that braids two lost souls together as they navigate infatuation, trust and devotion in this salaciously passionate parable that’s done with humor and heart and an R rating.

Reviews

YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER – Review by T.J. Callahan

October 8, 2026October 9, 2026 T. J. Callahan Adia, Bassam Tariq, Mahershala Ali, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother takes viewers on a desperate and violent spiritual journey that shows that dedicated parents come in all shapes and sizes. Mahershala Ali is finally getting to be the ninja we always knew he could be by teaming up with his former Marvel Blade director, Bassam Tariq. Ali is Latif, a religiously devout hitman who fights his way across Houston to protect his children following the death of his wife. His search for breast milk for his baby changes the course of his life as he must also confront forces that are closing in around him.

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TENZING – Review by T.J. Callahan

September 29, 2026October 5, 2026 T. J. Callahan Apple TV+, Edmund Hillary, Genden Phuntsok, jennifer peedom, John Hunt, mt everest, Tenzing, tenzing norgay, Tom Hiddleston, willem dafoe

Tenzing should be added to the celluloid list of films chronicling the freezing, ferocious feat. The biographical drama recounts the 1953 British expedition headed by Colonel John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) where New Zealander Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) and Norgay (Genden Phuntsok) were eventually chosen to ascend what the natives called Chomolungma. But Tenzing is mostly from the Sherpa’s viewpoint. It’s Norgay’s origin story. The outcast climber from the wrong clan who fulfilled his goal of reaching the top of the mountain goddess that he thought was only in his dreams. Tenzing is so immersive you can feel the cold.

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SUNNY DANCER – Review by T.J. Callahan

September 17, 2026 T. J. Callahan Bella Ramsey, George Jacques, james norton, Jessica Gunning, Neil Patrick Harris, Sunny Dancer

Sunny Dancer is a summer camp movie with all the typical summer camp movie activities…practical jokes, heavy petting, competitions, a water slide and a talent show…but Sunny Dancer isn’t your typical summer camp movie, because all the kids who go to this camp have cancer. While they all want more than anything to be “typical” and “normal”, they aren’t. At “Chemo Camp” these kids attend therapy sessions to discuss their feelings, there’s a crusty nurse who doles out medication, and there’s a wall of photos of deceased campers. No one wants to see their friends on that wall. If we take away anything from Sunny Dancer it’s an insight into not just how to survive, but how to truly live.

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THE WEIGHT – Review by T.J. Callahan

September 10, 2026September 13, 2026 T. J. Callahan Ethan Hawke, Great Depression, Oregon forests, russell crowe, The Weight

Ethan Hawke is not one to make mainstream box office blockbusters. His films are more arty, thinking man movies. Hawke is an actor’s actor and he’s doing his best Clint Eastwood in the crime thriller The Weight. The fictional, survival drama takes on weighty issues, literally and physically. The Weight is a heavy tale of good vs evil, greed vs morality, and desperation vs violence that tests Murphy’s (Hawke) mettle despite his military background and take charge attitude.

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THE UPRISING – Review by T.J. Callahan

September 9, 2026 T. J. Callahan andrew garfield, historical drama, Jamie Bell, paul greengrass, The Uprising, thomasin mckenzie

Everything old is new again. History continually repeats itself. After watching the grand spectacle of the Peasant Revolt of 1381 in England, humans have not learned a thing from our evil past. Blending real historical events with fictional folklore, The Uprising opens after the Black Plague swept across Europe and killed half the population of England. The Kingdom needs money and the corrupt court that advises the adolescent Richard II decides to levy a tax so brutal on the commoners that all they can do is rebel. Paraphrasing Popeye, it’s all they can stands, they can stands no more.

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THE DOG STARS – Review by T.J. Callahan

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 T. J. Callahan Jacob Elordi, josh brlin, margaret qualley, peter heller, ridley scott, the dog stars

The dystopian saga features Jacob Elordi as Hig, a widowed mechanic and pilot, who lives with his dog Jasper and a military survivalist named Bangley, played by Josh Brolin. They’ve set up house in an abandoned airplane hangar nestled in a valley between mountains outside of Denver. He spends his days trying to stay one step ahead of the roaming scavengers called Reapers and flying his Cessna into the remains of the city to gather hidden supplies. Until one day, when he hears a distant voice over his cockpit radio. Still believing in humanity over evil, Hig dares to fly past the “safe zone” to see if a better life exists.

Reviews

COYOTE VS ACME – Review by T.J. Callahan

August 20, 2026August 23, 2026 T. J. Callahan animation, Dave Green, James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, John Cena, looney tunes, samy burch, Warner Bros., Wile E. Coyote, Will Forte

Wile E. Coyote is tired. Tired of playing the game. Tired of being blown up by explosives. Tired of being hit in the head with anvils. Tired of being demolished by dynamite. Tired of being hurled off cliffs. He’s so tired. But not too tired to fight back. Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), the worn out wolf sues Acme for continual product failure and ends up going to battle with the profit-obsessed conglomerate’s bull dog attorney Buddy Crane, over acted by John Cena, uncovering a corporate cover-up in the process. Instead of just wanting to eat the Roadrunner, a whole other side of Mr. Coyote is revealed.

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TONY – Review by T.J. Callahan

August 16, 2026August 16, 2026 T. J. Callahan Anthony Bourdain, antonio banderas, biopic, Dominic Sessa, Emilia Jones, Kitchen Confidential, Leo Woodall, Matt Johnson, Tony

Tony is about chef and author Anthony Bourdain before the restaurants, the books, the television shows and, most importantly, the worldwide fame. The film takes place before Tony became “toney”, if you will. The coming of age docudrama follows the entitled antics of 19 year old Tony while on summer break from college at Vassar in 1975. After being turned down for a writing fellowship, Bourdain heads to Cape Cod to chase a girl, but his misbehavior forces him to work off his debts in a restaurant kitchen where the chef, played charmingly cheeky by Antonio Banderas, and his rag tag cooking crew develop a recipe that changes the main course of Tony’s life.

Reviews

THE END OF OAK STREET – Review by T.J.. Callahan

August 13, 2026 T. J. Callahan Anne Hathaway, David Robert Mitchell, Ewan McGregor, J.J. Abrams, The End of Oak Street

The End of Oak Street is Land of the Lost meets Jurassic Park with a premise not unlike an episode of the 1960’s television show Outer Limits. Director David Robert Mitchell, along with producer J.J. Abrams, brings the jump scares and the giggles, an extreme attention to detail, a pounding soundtrack, special effects, a committed cast and dinosaurs galore elevating the film’s retro feel from old school fright to a sci-fi summer scream. Not that there aren’t plot holes in the worm holes that send the Pratts and their neighbors into the middle of an extinct world, but the Twilight Zone type story keeps moving and keeps surprising at only an hour and 40 minutes.

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